A Single Decision
by Steamrollers Solve All
Summary: Geese Howard faces a challenge he never thought could exist: the Atami Nage's been broken. Running out of time and options, it'll take everything he has to beat Alfred. Including taking some huge risks.
1. One Man's Trust

A/N: Warning! This fanfic will no doubt cast a negative light on some fan favorites (evil glares at Shiranui) of the King of Fighters series… but it will also cast others in a good light and ask the question of what _would_ happen if Tung Fu Rue had put some faith in Geese Howard. I don't own King of Fighters, Fatal Fury, or Art of Fighting.

"Pathetic," Geese Howard muttered as he sidestepped one of Ryo Sakazaki's "Tiger Flame Punches" without a second thought, spun around to evade Ryo's best friend, Robert Garcia, as he flew through the air, kicks barely missing Geese's neck. "I was actually _worried_ that Kyokugenryo Karate would be a threat to me!" Geese simply tossed two low-powered Reppukens into his two enemies, smashing them into a wall.

_Can't lose,_ Ryo thought as he fell to the ground and then struggled to his feet, but Geese took no chances. He was already on the crippled fighter and kicked him in the chin, smashing him into the no better off Robert. _No!_ Ryo thought as he tried to just move, _I'm sorry Yuri… King… Dad… everybody!_ But a voice knocked Geese out of his slaughter.

"Leave the young ones out of this," said a man in a white gi with jet-black hair. "Besides, I've always wanted to get you back for what you did to me Geese." The man dropped into a stance while Geese just let out a laugh.

"_You?_ Takuma Sakazaki, the man I thought could defeat Jeff Bogard but was bested by his son?" Geese grinned as he charged and launched a brutal punch…

Just to have Takuma duck and launch possibly the most painful kick Geese had ever felt right into his neck. "Even then I held back," Takuma said confidently, "Do you think I would use _this move_ on my own son?"

Geese was in too much of a daze to get out of the way as Takuma elbowed him in the gut while energy was building up in his hands. The businessman blocked the next kick, but Takuma bent his leg around Geese's arm and rolled, and a sickening snap was heard as Geese was slammed into a window. The safety glass held, however, but there were innumerable cracks in it.

"Shi-Koh Ken!" Takuma shouted as the most destructive attack in his arsenal slammed into Geese's entire body, breaking the glass and sending him not only flying out the window, but also _onto _another building.

* * *

The fight kept playing through Geese's head again and again as he sat in his airplane as it made its way into Japanese airspace. It had been luck alone that he had escaped that confrontation with Takuma Sakazaki, and Geese knew it, and his broken arm was a painful reminder.

"Sir?" asked one of his butlers as Geese was knocked out of his train of thought.

"Yes? What is it?"

"Sir," the servant started, "We've received word of a man name Jeff Bogard snooping around our operations. Should we… take care of him?"

Geese thought for a moment as the name sank into his head… The American opened his mouth to answer, closed it again, and shook his head. "No. For the moment, close down all illegal actions. If Bogard wants to look around, let him. He won't find any dirt."

"Sir, are you sure that is such a good idea? After all-"

"I know what I'm doing!" Geese shouted, causing the butler to flinch. The shaken man went back to the back of the cabin to prepare dinner, leaving Geese with his broken arm and reflections…

_Jeff Bogard… I'll settle this one personally!_ Geese thought as closed his eyes and let sleep slowly take him…

Geese remembered the day so very well… it was 1975, he had just turned twenty, and he was currently sparring with Jeff Bogard, to see who would be the heir to the Hakkyokuseiken style of martial arts. Master Tung Fu Rue, small and aged, sat back, watching the two young men match wits and moves against each other.

Oh, how long had that battle raged, quite possibly hours. Jeff's cool composure was put against Geese's emotional and wild antics, and yet the fight was still even.

Wham! Two Reppukens ground waves slammed into each other, canceling the other one out and both Jeff and Geese leapt into the air, launching kicks at each other.

Jeff hit first, and Geese fell down hard. The Bogard pressed the offensive by landing a spin-kick to Geese's back and then tripped up the still dazed man.

And then it was over. Geese was on the ground, practically unconscious from Jeff's crushing blows, out of breath, and gritting his teeth.

"Good," cried out Tung as he stood up and helped Geese get to his feet. "I have seen you both come a long way since I first met you. Well done."

"Thank you master," said Geese and Jeff in almost complete unison. The loser of the battle kept his aggression to himself, knowing it would be better to stay quiet.

"I have not yet made my decision concerning who will learn the more advanced techniques of Hakkyokuseiken, but I will in a few hours. I suggest you both return to your rooms and meditate on this battle's result."

* * *

The rest of the day for the young Geese was spent in the room like Tung had suggested, the battle playing in his head over and over again. It wasn't right! Jeff didn't put his heart in the fight, he didn't do everything in his power to win! In a real street-fight, you fought to win, and if that meant fighting dirty, then so be it!

Geese already knew Tung would pick "Mr. Calm" for being his highest ranked student, and Howard wanted to at least vent off his frustrations by beating up on some punks down at a local bar, so against his better judgement, he stood up and walked out of his sparsely decorated room. The lights were off, good. Geese knew the halls like the back of his hand, and he'd hear if Tung was walking down them.

Geese slowly made his way out when he noticed the lights in Jeff's room were on. There were two voices talking in there, probably Jeff and Tung about him. Geese slowly walked up and put his head to the wall and listened.

"You can't mean it!" Jeff shouted. "You're picking _Geese_ over me?"

"I was afraid of this," Tung said quietly.

"Master, what have I _ever_ done wrong? I've never let my emotions get the better of me, I've always fought with honor, and I even have taken in two young boys off the street! What has Geese done that has compared to this?"

Geese was now very interested. Tung had actually picked him over Bogard, even with his embarrassing loss earlier today? What was that about?

"Jeff," Tung said sternly, "I see something in Geese that I never once saw you show."

"What would that be?"

"Selfishness. Geese may fight for things he wants, but when he does, he puts all his heart into it and won't let anybody stop him. To you, it doesn't matter if you win or lose, it just matters you take your own pleasure in the fight."

"But this is saying the end justify the means!" Jeff said, now with a more reserved aggression. "I won't stand for this at all."

"If it means that much to you then, Jeff," Tung said as he walked to the door, "Stay here as long as you like, doing what you wish to keep an eye on Geese." Tung walked out of the room before Geese could react, and he saw his master staring at him.

"So you heard," Tung stated.

"Yes, master," Geese nodded. "I know what this means then."

"Geese, I want you to do something," Tung asked as he and Geese walked outside. "I want you to leave this place."

"Leave Southtown?"

"No, just this academy. I fear that if you spend another day here, Jeff may take your life. I want to live your life the way you want to, and have confidence that you will find the right path. That is my first and only lesson for the heir of Hakkyokuseiken. Do what you will, I will not stop you."

* * *

That had been four years ago, and the rest of Geese's life went by with a flash up to this point, becoming a police commissioner but still the head of Southtown crime, trying to have Takuma Sakazaki kill Jeff by holding his daughter hostage… but it was all due to one feeling: fear. Geese was afraid of Bogard, plain and simple. The man had those emotionless eyes when he fought, and who knew how twisted his sons were?

But it didn't matter right now. Geese would find some peace in Japan for a few years and then head back to Southtown and finish things off.

The rest of the flight went without difficulty, and Geese didn't let a broken arm prevent him from training as much as he could. He slowly focused and moved each muscle in his body, letting all the aches and pains from his fight against the Sakazakis melt away.

* * *

The two years flew by, it was 1980, and Geese continued his own training, waiting until the day that he would return to Southtown. He kept tabs on the goings on, smiling every time the news of Jeff Bogard's valiant efforts to find just _one_ piece of criminal elements in Geese's organization failed. All Jeff ever found were charitable donations to orphanages, perfectly legal shipping of medical supplies to third-world countries, and other rather benevolent actions.

Of course, some people, like that bald-headed "Mr. Big" wondered if Geese was making this happen out of the goodness of his heart and not out of spite for Jeff, but no one dared question him face to face.

And then, it happened.

"Mr. Howard, are you sure this is such a good idea?" asked one of his men as Geese put on a decent fighting suit and started walking outside.

"What's the matter? It's just a martial arts tournament."

"That's not the point sir. The point is-" the man stopped short as Geese turned and scowled at him.

"I'll be fine," Geese stated.

The tournament itself was too easy. Fight after fight ended in only a handful of moves until Geese looked down at the final match up, and swore like a sailor.

"Geese Howard vs. Jeff Bogard"

Geese walked out with a calm exterior as he stepped onto the sparsely decorated arena mat, in his traditional white gi and orange hakama pants as Jeff walked out from the other side in his own blue outfit.

"I see you shaved," Geese pointed out as he dropped into his own stance, slightly modified from the original Hakkyokuseiken version.

The brown haired man just smiled as he dropped into his own (_vastly altered_, Geese noticed) version of the stance. "I notice you cut your ponytail."

"What's this about Jeff?" Geese asked as the referee stated this fight would end one of two ways: either by ring-out or knockout.

"Just settling a score," the man said as he charged, almost so fast Geese barely saw the fist coming straight at his head.

The blonde-haired man ducked and sent his fastest thrust-kick into Jeff's side, which knocked Jeff away a few feet. Jeff looked up and smiled again. "See the old guy in the front row with the little girl? Old family friend of Tung's who I called in a favor for."

Geese took the chance for a quick glance, and sure enough saw the red-garbed man and girl. Unfortunately, Jeff still managed to press the advantage of speed to once again catch Geese off guard and this time land a full-power Reppuken…

…_At point-blank range_.

By the time Geese regained consciousness, the referee was already on "Nine!", and without hesitation, Geese sprung up in time.

It was worse than before, and Howard was slowly cracking mentally. This should _not_ be happening. He was the heir of Hakkyokuseiken! Master Tung Fu Rue had put faith in him! And Jeff was just standing there, enjoying every bit of this fight.

_**That was it!**_

Geese charged, only to take a throw into the mat, but he slammed his arm on the ground as used the opportunity to spin and trip up Jeff, and then followed the attack with one of his own Reppukens. As Jeff rolled away, Geese pressed the offensive, but leapt back in time to avoid a hard backhand. The audience was wild now. _This_ was a fight!

"Grandpa? Does Mr. Bogard know Mr. Duck?"

"No, Mai," said the famous Hanzo Shiranui, "And its 'Geese', and that's his first name. His last name is Howard. And yes, Jeff does know Geese." _And it's about time_, Hanzo silently added, _that the bastard dies!_

The fight was still dead even, like it almost always was between the two experts. Attacks were almost going to fast to see, but it was obvious Geese's strength was quickly fading against the more powerful Bogard.

"Can't you just leave me alone?" Geese asked as he grappled with Jeff in an attempt to ring him out of the arena. "Two years, I have not condoned a single illegal act!" He brought his leg up to block one of Jeff's kicks, and then kicked Jeff away.

"Like that matters?" Jeff asked as he quickly caught his breath. "You're enough of a criminal that I could kill you right here, right now, and not a single person would consider me the villain of the story."

"You wouldn't," Geese said, a slight hint of nervousness in his voice, "You have two sons to care for."

"Please," Jeff laughed, "Terry has been the scourge of Southtown fighting rings since he was ten, and Andy's been spending Summers here learning Hanzo's fighting style."

It happened so fast… Jeff charged, hand open in an attempt to literally sever Geese's head, but the blonde managed to catch the wrist and Jeff's other hand and kick him right in the sternum hard enough for a snap to be heard.

Jeff Bogard was dead before he hit the ground, and before Geese knew it, he was tackled down and ushered out of the arena by what seemed like a _million _police officers.

"Get him into solitary!" shouted one of them.

"It was in self defense!" Geese yelled back as he was practically carried out of the building and down to a police station.

"Not for punishment…" one of them said quietly, "For protection! You killed a friend of Hanzo Shiranui! You're as good as a dead man now to his clan!"

* * *

The time in jail was… acceptable. Few visitors were even permitted to set one foot inside of Howard's cellblock, but none were allowed to carry a weapon. Months dragged on... and Geese continued conditioning. If killing Jeff like that was going to bring down the lethal hand of the Shiranui ninjas, then it was best he at least try to get better.

Then one day, the door opened, and standing there was a young woman with short brown hair and a red and black dress.

"Mr. Geese Howard?" she asked calmly.

"Yes?" Geese asked as he turned to look at her.

"My… employer has paid your bail and promised your protection. You are free to go."

"And who would your employer be?" Geese asked. He was well versed on the names and pseudonyms of the entire clan.

"Leopold Goenitz."

A/N: Geese's life takes a turn in an new direction when he meets the cursed man named Goenitz and learns of the Orochi, but things are not as they were. Goenitz has noble intentions, and it seems that only Geese can lend the crucial hand to let Leopold find peace.

P.S. I DRASTICALLY lowered Geese's level of power, otherwise there wouldn't be too much worthwhile in fights. PLEASE: read and review!

Okay... suggestion time! I have most of the late King of Fighters ('97-2001) planned out, but the earlier ones are going to be a problem. I'm planning on letting Kyo get his two victories against Rugal, but KoF '92, '93, and '96 are up in the air in terms of what will actually happen. I'm not even sure I'm going to do the Ash Crimson arc... More imporatantly, I have hardly ANY idea how I'm going to deal with the Fatal Fury storyline of Yamazaki and the Jin twins. Rock, Marie, and Kain I've got ironed out, though.

Anyways, expect a few relationships to take drastic spins, heroes to become villains, enemies of the original storyline to become friends, and also Fatal Fury bashing... well, except for a few from that cast.


	2. Subtle Changes

A/N: Here's the next chapter, and thank you Evan Jones andBeni-kunfor actually reviewing. (Evil glares to everybody else) I don't own King of Fighters, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Star Trek, or Fatal Fury, but I have done plenty of thinking about the characters of the SNK games. I still like Street Fighter more in terms of storyline, but I also like KoF.

"So… what's a girl sixteen doing working for a businessman?" Geese asked as the young woman walked in front of him. "Back at Southtown I'd usually hire people in their twenties."

"Mr. Goenitz hired me and my fellow secretary for… personal reasons," the brown-haired girl answered passively, but with a ferocity hidden underneath. "Besides, it's a summer job."

"And what would your name be?" Geese asked.

"You can call me Vice," she answered again, tapping him on his shoulder so he'd turn around and shake hands.

Geese chuckled quietly when he heard the name. "Vice? Isn't that little mature of a name for a girl?"

"Oh no," Vice answered, laughing a little bit herself. "Mature is the other secretary for Mr. Goenitz, and ironically, she's a year younger than me." She quieted and stepped in front of Geese, leading the way now. "You should know that it's 1885, so you've been whiling away seven years here in Japan. Unfortunately, you'll be spending at least one more here."

"Japan is fine," Geese answered. "Provided the Shiranui clans keep away from me."

"That won't be a problem. We have a plan of making you… disappear."

"How's that?"

"You'll see," Vice answered, smiling.

* * *

There was a limousine waiting outside, and Vice opened up the door for him. "Just relax. We have gone over this plan a hundred times, and even rehearsed a worst-case scenario."

"Who's we?" Geese asked as Vice walked up to the front and got in to drive. Aparrantly this Leopold Goenitz had high expectations for people.

"Just some friends of Mr. Goenitz. Do not worry, you're not going to die here."

"I'd like to believe tha-" Before Geese could say anything else, the car exploded.

* * *

"We're losing him!" shouted a voice as Geese slowly regained consciousness. He could make out the ceiling. A Japanese hospital, probably the emergency room. Well, it was better than what America had.

"Dammit!" shouted a female voice as Geese heard the heart monitor slowly draw closer to flatlining. But oddly, as the seconds ticked by, the more he found himself awake. He tried to call out and criticize the ineptness of the doctors, but he soon found his muscles were stunted. He couldn't move.

Before the medics could even charge up the defibrillator, he flatlined, legally considered dead, hauled off to the morgue for the autopsy later that day, and left alone.

Staying inside that dark container was maddening. Geese slowly felt his muscles regain their strength, and he slowly breathed, using as little air as possible to survive. But he couldn't move his arms, and itches were springing up everywhere.

And he still couldn't call out.

Just when Geese was about to just give up and curse this Leopold Goenitz, the slide moved out, and standing there was a man in apparently… European priest robes?

"Ah, Mr. Howard," the man said with a German accent as he extended a hand. Geese quickly found further strength in his body, and hesitantly reached up.

"Leopold Goenitz?" Geese asked, irritation practically dripping from his voice. The man nodded.

"Sorry about the cloak and dagger," he said, sighing. "Just had to fake your death with some assistance from some associates of mine. But talking here is dangerous. Somebody might see you." He walked over to the door and looked out. "Perfect. We have thirty minutes before somebody comes down here. Can you-"

"Walk?" Geese asked as he stood up. "Yes. And I want answers. Now."

Goenitz turned to him and sighed again. "Let's just say without your help, I've got less than half a year to live in the way I want to. You're everything to me alive, and if you die, well, I might as well kill myself."

"Isn't that against the Christian religion?" Geese asked as he stepped outside. Goenitz led the way, making Geese sometimes go out of his way to avoid being seen.

"Compared to what I'd be capable of, I think I'd much rather burn in Hell than rule it."

When Geese and Leopold got outside, it was nighttime. Whether that was a good thing or bad, Geese didn't know. Outside and waiting was the same limo as before, with Vice as the driver and…

"What really happened before?" Geese asked, very confused.

"I called in a favor from a different clan," Goenitz stated. "The Kagura family has an instrument capable of creating actual illusions. In return for what I have planned, they used it to fake an explosion and severe burns on your body. Congratulations, Geese Howard, everyone in the world thinks you're dead. Well, maybe two hundred people at the very most know you're alive. Come on, I've got a lot to explain." He went back into the limo, and as Geese did, his thoughts trailed back to the explosion earlier. He hadn't felt any heat, and his lack of burns proved whatever he had felt hadn't really happened. "Now where should I start…" Leopold asked, lost in his own thought.

"Preferably with who you are, why you doing this, what was the deal with the explosion, and where are we going." Geese answered plainly. "In that order, if you could."

"A modest request," Goenitz answered. "Essentially, I'm just a European Roman Catholic priest, who happens to have two young girls working as secretaries for me for a summer job, and am here on a business meeting with the Kagura clan, as I have already stated."

"Why would a Roman Catholic be in a country mostly consisting of Shintoists and Buddhists?" Geese asked, wondering why he was more and more confused about who Goenitz was the more time went by.

"To be fair, why is Geese Howard, leader of what was once the most powerful criminal organization in all of Southtown doing spending seven years of his life in Japan?"

"'What was once the most powerful criminal organization?'" Geese repeated, completely confused.

"You never heard, did you?" came Vicer's voice from the driver's seat. "Mature, would you?"

Geese took a look to see a young woman, similar in apparel to Vice, sitting up in the front passenger seat. So this must be "Mature". What crazy names… "The Southtown massacre?" Mature asked,"Bogard's two little boys practically killed off all your employees. I heard they slammed Mr. Big's head on a pike in front of the criminal justice center."

"And the Sakazaki's and their associates…" Geese asked far more quietly, suddenly lacking much of his confidence.

"Perfectly safe in the mountains of China, training, and completely incommunicado, for most of them. The rest, like that bouncer you once employed, she's fine," Goenitz stated. "With any luck, you'll get your chance to head back to Southtown and do what you will. But I think I better continue on with what you need to know.

"Geese," he continued, "Have you ever heard of the old Orochi legend? The one of the three clans, the sword, shield, and mirror that sealed away the snake demon?"

Howard nodded. "Enough times. What does this have to do with anything?"

Goenitz sighed, and he noticed Mature up in the front seat had become a ways more solemn. "Every nine hundred years," Goenitz said, now very quiet, so that Geese could barely hear him over the sound of the wind beating against the car, which he now noticed was nearing a Christian church on the outskirts of Osaka. "The Orochi selects eight people born to be its servants. At a point of great stress, or once they reach a certain age, the desire inside of them to bring about the Orochi's return swells inside of them. Vice and Mature are not just my secretaries so they can get some spending money. They're two of the eight, and I'm another," Goenitz said, almost completely quiet. "It's ironic if you ask me, a man of God, selected to be the servant of a demon and bring about its return."

"And where do I fit into this?" Geese asked, thoughts of additional power swirling in his head. It would be easy enough to reclaim Southtown with the power of a demon at his command. And if not, well, the mystery of the explosion and the lack of injuries were proof this wasn't _all_ a lie.

"You're going to help me exorcise it. I have three months before I turn into a Heavenly King of the Orochi." He bent down, his hands in front of his face in a manner like Gendo Ikari's from the popular anime show. "Vice has another seven years, and Mature has eight, provided I don't use my powers as a King to bring it out prematurely. We're running out of time, Geese, and I _will_ reimburse you sufficiently for your actions."

"What do you mean?"

"That clan I mentioned, the Kagura clan, and I have been going over a plan to exorcise the Orochi blood inside of me. All I need is a man strong enough to hold off my Orochi-powered self long enough for them to do the ritual. I figured it would be best if I chose a man that would do it for his own reasons, which I believe you are. I am planning on diverting several hundred million dollars into a bank account of your choice in return for your services."

"And if I weren't here?" Geese asked.

"I'd keep looking for you. Even if it meant I would run out of time, _you're_ the man that I want to help me out."

"Seriously," Mature stated from the front as the three got out of the car. A sixteen year old driving a car, risking his sanity in exchange for finding Geese in time... Goenitz certainly had high expectations for people.

Geese thought about it. Getting a payment for this would be nice, and if there was the possible offchance of getting additional power, it would be great. Worst case, this was just like a Star Trek convention. You played along, laughed behind the guy's back, and got a big fat check when it was all over.

"Count me in," Geese said, shaking Goenitz's hand.

* * *

"The level of power I will gain from becoming a Heavenly King is unknown," Goenitz said as he stared down Geese in a fight. "I hope you'll be strong enough." He charged, fist raised.

"Don't worry, I am." One kick later, Goenitz was on the ground, groaning as he grasped his gut. "You okay?"

"Yeah…" Leopold muttered, "Just not that good of a fighter. It seems the Orochi has a rather odd way of choosing candidates."

"Well, I honestly doubt you're going to be _that_ much of a challenge if you don't even know how to through a punch properly," Geese sighed, shaking his head at Leopold's ineptness. "See, don't curl your fingers around your thumb, do that and you'll break it!"

"So put your thumb here?"

"Yes, that's a start," Geese said. "Now let's see just how hard you punch." Leopold landed his best punch into an unflinching Geese's stomach. "Wow. Seriously, what the Hell is the Orochi thinking, picking a man of God to do all of its dirty work?"

"Actually, there are four Kings of the Orochi," Leopold stated. "And if what Maki said was correct,I'm just supposed to awaken the others. I'll be the weakest, and probably not strong enough to gather the energy to actually awaken the Orochi itself."

"No surprise there," Geese muttered, letting out a small laugh. Goenitz returned it in full; it seemed, at least, the guy could take a joke.

* * *

"Grandpa, is he going to get here soon?" asked a young, red-haired girl in a red ninja outfit.

"He should be popping up any time now," Hanzo Shiranui answered Mai as he looked around, only to feel somebody tapping him from behind. He turned around to see standing there, a young boy just turned eleven. "Well Andy! I see you've been doing extra practicing in sneaking up on old men!"

"Thank you, Master," Andy said as he bowed, taking the moment to look at Mai and smile at her in that way she loved. "I thank you for letting me visit my brother back home."

"And the downfall of Howard's company?" Hanzo asked.

"Totally complete. Terry may be older than me by about a year, but he needed by help finishing the job." He turned and looked at Mai and smiled again. "I heard you have some good news too!"

"Yep!" the nine-year old girl said happily. "We finally got rid of that nasty Mr. Duck once and for all!" She handed the young Bogard a newspaper turned to the obituary papers. Sure enough, Jeff Bogard's killer was among the dead listed.

"Mai, his name is Geese Howard," Hanzo said, causing Andy to laugh while the ninja-to-be blushed.

Mai just thought for a moment with her index finger's knuckle to her lip in an act of thought. "Well, yeah, but… why should we call such a mean man by his right name? We shouldn't respect him?"

Andy just smiled, walked up to her, and ruffled her hair in a playful manner before heading off with his teacher. Geese was dead, perfect. He could ease off a bit on training, spend some more time with Mai, it looked good. Andy still felt anger towards the man, but with news of his death, Andy felt closer to being at peace.

* * *

A motorcycle blazed across the asphalt as several other bikers trailed behind it. The young girl in it, her raven-black hair kept underneath the helmet, just smiled as she zipped through the traffic. She loved street races. The speed, the sights, the adrenaline pumping through her blood, Chizuru Kagura was addicted to it. And it wasn't like she didn't have a serious side, it was just that she could never see how Maki could spend so much time researching and honing her powers. True, Goenitz would go Orochi in just a few weeks, but the entire clan was all set up to deal with it, and it seemed that Geese Howard was at least willing to go along with the plan.

Goenitz… the thoughts drifted through her head about the man. Maki and him barely got along, that much was obvious. He was a Roman Catholic, she was a Shintoist. He didn't believe in the Mirror of Yata's power for what seemed like ages, much less believed he was going to turn against his beloved God. Chizuru never figured out what made him change his opinion.

The roadway slowly melted away into a forested region, which melted away further as the young girl finally stopped some three miles away from a clearing. Standing there, arms crossed, white flowing robe moving in the gentle breeze, was Maki, her 23-year-old big sister with short black hair in contrast to Chizuru's long hairstyle. "Chizuru, you know what would happen if you were caught," she said with a stern look on her face.

"I was just doing some investigation, that's all," Chizuru said nervously, knowing she had stepped over a line one too many times. "It seems the Shiranui clan really thinks Howard is dead."

"That all?" Maki asked, raising one eyebrow at her much younger sister, causing Chizuru to sweat in a rather comical fashion. Maki then smiled, and started walking away. "Well then, if that's all, I'm sure I can look the other way this time." Her voice held a relaxed and happy tone to it, and Chizuru laughed as she ran back up to her big sister.

"So everything's set up for Goenitz's exorcism?" the younger Kagura asked.

"Yes," Maki answered. She then chuckled quietly. "Funny. I wonder what would've happened if Goenitz hadn't have found Geese in time. Then again, there's nothing saying Geese is strong enough. We don't even know how strong the priest will be."

* * *

"So where exactly are we going?" Geese asked as Goenitz thrusted several briefcases into his hands.

"I need to pay my respects to a few people," Goenitz answered. "The people that proved to me what I'm going to become… the one tribe of the Orochi that have pacified themselves."

"Why haven't you gone through their treatment?" Geese asked, wondering exactly why Geese was taking him along.

"Getting exorcised the Kagura clan _is_ the treatment, Geese," Leopold answered. He talked into his study to see Vice going over some papers while Mature was talking to a church patron on the phone. "You two going to be able to keep the home fires burning for about a week?" They both looked up and nodded in their own way.

"If we have to," Vice said as she rubbed her eyes. "Just watch yourself, sir."

"God will provide," Goenitz answered. _If not for me… then at least for them._ He thought.

* * *

"Good night, Leona," said her father, the allegedly Orochi King Guidel, who had long ago finally exorcised his entire clan from the damned snake. He smiled as she curled up under her blankets in her hut, and Guidel smiled. "Get well soon." Leona hadn't been feeling well today, but a good night's rest was likely all it would take to help her through.

His short, grey hair hung down as he looked around at the village. He had been hesitant when the man Leopold Goenitz had come to see if there was any truth to the Orochi legend, and the remnants of the demon that still flowed through Guidel's blood had been enough for the devout priest to sense at a moment's notice. Just as Leopold was condemned to be the Orochi King of Wind, Guidel had been destined to be the King of Water until the Kagura family and Guidel's own ancestors stopped the madness by being the first to exorcise the evil inside of them.

Guidel didn't see why Leopold wanted _Geese Howard_, of all people, to aid him in the exorcism. Howard had been the scourge of the United States mafia, and would no doubt just do it for personal gain. _I hope that Christian is right,_ Guidel thought as he heard Leona moan in her sleep and get up, so he turned around and walked back to the hut. "Leona?" he asked as he opened the door. "You okay?"

Guidel never saw the bloody and feral creature lunge before it was too late.

Orochi Leona tore his throat out in one motion, and then looked to the rest of the village. Only one thought was in her mind…

_KILL!_ The Orochi commanded, desiring for the village of traitors to die… and when he came, Leopold Goenitz.

A/N: Geese sees just how dangerous the powers of the Orochi are when he finds himself thrust into battle against a bloodthirsty eight-year old! And with Goenitz unable to fight, lest the Orochi in him come to the surface, can our story's unlikely hero stand a chance against a killing machine with powers Geese never thought possible? Find out next chapter, Orochi Water is Thicker than Blood.


	3. Orochi Water is Thicker than Blood

A/N: I don't own the Incredibly Hulk, Fatal Fury or King of Fighters, but BOY do I enjoy the fact I've actually gotten the tournament brackets for K0F '92 to '96, and I've got a killer idea for '02. Yes! I will write up a King of Fighter's tournament for 2002! Not sure about '97, since, well, I can't spoil anything yet… heh heh heh…

"The village is only a bit further away," Goenitz told a slightly frustrated Geese. "It won't be much longer."

"Of course it won't be. You've just been saying that for the past half an hour," Geese answered back. He had yet to see where Goenitz's great patience came from. Sure there was the whole 'patience is a virtue' crap, but Geese didn't exactly like waiting around for results with nothing to show for them.

"It's a big forest, what would you expect?" Goenitz asked while shrugging. "Guidel wanted to hide far enough away that the other Orochi clans couldn't find him… to be honest, it took me forever to find him the first time."

"And this _isn't_ forever?" Geese muttered cynically. He was almost going to confront Goenitz about all of this but he quickly noticed a break in the trees and noticed a few wooden huts. "I stand corrected… for once." Geese said as he walked into the clearing with Goenitz, almost immediately taken aback.

Some of the hovels were smoldering, and it was apparent there were bodies strewn all over the place, and as Goenitz and his American associate looked further, they found a small, blue-haired girl crying over one man with a torn-out throat.

Slowly, the girl looked up. She had seen one of the men before, that man named Leopold Goenitz who was also of the Orochi… but she didn't know who the other was.

"Leona…" Goenitz asked as he looked around, kneeling down to look the girl straight in the eye, "What happened here?"

Leona looked back at him, and felt something snap in her mind. A single voice telling her to do just one thing, just as before.

Kill… Kill… Kill… But I don't want to kill Mr. Goenitz! He's a good man, a lot like my father! Leona struggled, looked away from Goenitz and Howard, but the urge was still coming again. Leopold knew it immediately as Leona's hair slowly turned blood red and she hunched over. He backed away, looking towards Geese, wondering if the man was capable of beating someone powered with the Orochi. 

"Kill… rip… tear… bleed… die…" Leona rasped as she turned around, hands bared like claws, eyes lost in a milky white, and blood dripping from her mouth. "Kill… kill… _KILL_!"

Leona dashed, and for a second, Goenitz saw his life flash before his eyes…

Right before Geese came in, planting his foot into the side of Leona's face and knocking her away. "A little help would be nice," Geese said as he saw Leona rise back up, practically unfazed.

"I can't help you," Goenitz said as he slowly backed away. "If I get too close, my Orochi self might be awakened anyway, and I'd prefer that _not_ happening." Of course, there was _one_ thing he could do. As Geese stared down the psychotic killing machine, Goenitz took out a small bell, a copy of the King James Bible, and a small candle. "Just hold her off for a little while!"

Geese practically couldn't here Goenitz over the feral growls Leona was emitting, but that didn't stop him from sending out two quick Reppukens which plowed straight into Leona. The girl was knocked into a tree, but got up almost instantly and charged again. Geese put a significantly greater amount of power into his ground waves this time, but Leona leapt over them and came slashing down. Needless to saw, Geese was able to grab her wrists and hold her back, but Leona's entire personage struck a strange cord in him. While Jeff had fought without emotion, just enjoying the fight for some twisted reason, this young girl's blank eyes held nothing but bloodlust in them. And she was far too strong for an eight-year-old to ever be.

If there had been even a trace of doubt in Geese's mind about the Orochi legend and Goenitz's story being true, it had by now been utterly annihilated by this one girl.

Geese kicked her away, but Leona came back right away, already attacking again. Geese caught her hand and slammed her into the ground, and yet Leona just kept coming back.

And then Geese stumbled back and Leona slashed him harshly across the chest, his white hakama outfit giving way to show skin and a massive crimson slash across the front.

And then a single bell began ringing, and Leona turned to look at Goenitz, who was holding a lit candle in one hand and the bell in the other while reading a prayer from the bible; Geese couldn't tell which one. Nevertheless, Goenitz continued ringing the bell and reading as Leona charged.

She was fifteen feet away.

Goenitz closed the book.

She was five feet away.

Goenitz stopped ringing the bell.

She was on him, only to be held back by Geese, who managed to grab in the nick of time.

"And may you leave this girl," Goenitz stated as he blew out the candle.

Leona suddenly fell to the ground, her hair back to normal, her eyes reverting, and the tears once again streaming from her eyes. Goenitz just embraced her, telling her it was all over before looking up at Geese.

"Thank you," Goenitz said.

* * *

"Vice? Mature?" Goenitz called out two days later as he and Geese returned to his mansion, with an extra follower.

"Here, sir," Mature said, walking out to see Leona resting peacefully in Goenitz's arms. "Vice is just finishing up the bookkeeping for the month. Who's that?"

"A girl that tried to kill me," Howard answered. "It seems she went postal on her entire village. Guidel and the rest I was supposed to meet are dead."

A sound of china breaking was heard, followed by a long string of obscenities. Vice walked in and groaned. "Sorry sir, I… just heard the news."

"It's alright, Vice," Goenitz soothed, "I bought it down at the dollar store." He put Leona down on a couch and pulled a blanket over her before looking up. "I was lucky enough to exorcise her. The Orochi didn't take a serious hold on her, so a simple Christian exorcism was able to suffice."

Goenitz led Geese back into the kitchen, where the two men and Leopold's secretaries sat down for some tea. Thankfully, Vice had prepared a second pot, and the four were able to discuss what had happened, with Geese more confused with each word they said.

"It doesn't seem plausible," Goenitz said, "The Kaguras had sealed away Guidel's Orochi part decades ago…"

"Then what if it wasn't the Orochi?" Mature asked, Goenitz shook his head.

"How else do you explain an eight-year-old girl with not fighting experience being able to survive to Reppukens from one of the world's strongest fighters?" Goenitz answered back.

"I can attest to that," Geese said. "I've seen plenty of people stand up to them, but not even Jeff…" he stopped for a moment, reminded of that killer, before he started again, "Not even Jeff Bogard could take two hits like that and just get up without anything."

"Great. Just great," Vice muttered. "We get our hopes up about not becoming the servants of some eighteen hundred year old snake, and then he drops a bomb on us like this."

"That might not be the case," Goenitz stated before standing up. "Whatever the problem is, I'll take Leona to Maki tomorrow and find out what's wrong." Before leaving he turned around again, "And Vice, have some faith things will turn out."

* * *

"I see," Maki answered on the phone. "Somehow the Orochi of Water was able to somehow emerge in Leona. This is not good."

"Exactly. There's something not right going on here. I'm going to bring her over later today," Leopold explained, "In the meantime, can you dig up all the Orochi references your clan has? I'm having Vice and Mature look into anyplace that might take her in."

"You seem to be having an optimistic view of this, Goenitz," Maki answered back. "What if this happens to you?"

"God will provide, even if we have different ones," Goenitz stated plainly. "I'll see you at five in the afternoon?"

"Sounds good. And Howard?"

"Going over his form again. Guess he doesn't lose that often, considering all the training he did, even in prison."

"You really do trust him, don't you?"

"God works in mysterious ways, Maki."

"More like _you_ do!"

* * *

Leona was silent as she and Goenitz made a quiet drive to visit the Kagura clan. Leona was speechless due to fear of what Goenitz might say in return. Goenitz was quiet because he was afraid to bring up the fact that even after the exorcism, he might still become a Heavenly King of the Orochi. Finally, Goenitz spoke up.

"I… I'm sorry for your father," the priest said, slowing the car down to a stop and looking at the introspective girl. "Leona, know that this _isn't_ your fault. The Orochi and the Orochi alone was responsible for this."

Leona was still silent, but she did at least nod in agreement.

"We'll figure this out, Leona. For both our sakes."

* * *

It was nighttime when Goenitz and Leona finally arrived at the grounds of the Kagura tribe's land. The priest got out of the car and then went to the other side and picked up the peacefully sleeping girl and carried her to a waiting Maki.

"She's just asleep," Goenitz said. "She's had a rough day."

"That's understandable," Maki answered while taking out the Mirror of Yata, the Kagura family's greatest treasure. Maki held the mirror for a moment and closed her eyes, focusing on Leona's mind as the woman seemingly passed out on her feet.

_Nothing but rivers…_ Maki thought as she walked around Leona's aquatic mental landscape, _Make's sense for her Orochi clan._ Tentatively, the white-robed woman took a cautious step into the river, and almost slipped on what felt like snake scales.

As Maki stumbled and tried to stand back up, a massive snake rose up from the river's bottom, but something was wrong here. The Orochi was white and had eight heads, yet this one as blue as the water and had only one head.

The massive snake lazily turned to look at Maki, and she noticed that in its mouth was what looked to be a white snake, and then it shrugged in some sort of odd manner, swallowed the rest of the white serpent, and then went back into the water. Knowing there was not going to be any more information, Maki left Leona's mind, more confused than ever.

"What did you see?" Goenitz asked as Maki caught her breath.

The priestess shook her head. "Something very unusual… I'll have to do a lot of research on it. But one thing I do know: the Orochi inside of her has been killed-"

"That's great!" Goenitz said, almost dropping the sleeping girl until stopping himself and then carefully taking her into a hut to sleep.

"Christian, I saw a very different looking snake in her after that," Maki finished. "I don't know what it is, or why it would kill the head of the Orochi inside of Leona. For all we know, it might be inside of you too."

The man sighed again, hopes dashed. "Alright. I have a few more weeks before my Orochi is awakened. What should I do in the meantime?"

Maki paused for a moment, thinking. "Just keep training with Geese. I heard you finally learned how to punch correctly." She leaned forward and looked at Goenitz in a humorous manner, all thoughts of the Orochi pushed to the side for the moment.

"If you must know, yes!" Goenitz answered back. "And for your information, he's turning out to be fairly decent, if rather selfish on occasions!"

"Good to know," Maki said as she turned and walked away. "I expect to see you here when the time comes. Are we clear?"

"Crystal, Maki."

* * *

"Are you really sure about this, big brother?" asked a young, blonde-haired girl as her older brother helped her off the boat. "America is really rough!"

"Lilly," said the teenage Billy Kane as he held his little sister's hand and smiled, "After all the stuff we've gone through in London, Southtown should be easy enough to deal with."

"Southtown?" asked one man next to Billy, who was selling newspapers, "You must be already writing up your obituary!" He laughed, causing Billy to furrow his brow and stare at the man.

"What do you mean?" Lilly asked, hoping her brother wouldn't get hurt.

"Haven't you heard of Terry Bogard?"

"I've heard the name a few times," Billy answered. "What about him?"

"'What about him?'" the man repeated, "Are you crazy? The teenager that beat Geese Howard's entire criminal organization into the dirt? You'd be lucky that he would just cripple you for life! Of course… I _could_ pull some strings…" The paperman motioned as several other men formed a ring around Billy and his sister. "What do you say?"

Billy took a glance around and gulped. "Lilly, understand I'm just doing this to protect you." This was not going to be easy.

Roughly ten seconds later, the five men that had been antagonizing Billy were on the ground, moaning and clutching their stomachs in pain. Both Billy and his sister were standing wide-eyed at the small, green-garbed man that was standing in front of them, who had for a moment bulked up in a manner not unlike the Incredible Hulk.

"Who're you?" Billy asked, now more fearful at this newcomer. The old man just turned and bowed.

"Just a friend," the man said. "My name is Tung Fu Rue. I saw that you were willing to fight these men just to protect your sister, correct?"

Billy nodded. "Yeah, but I'm not all that good anyways."

"Might I suggest," Tung inquired, "Fighting with a weapon?"

* * *

It was time, and Vice, Mature, Geese, and Leopold all knew it. The day had come that Goenitz's Orochi self would awaken, which would mean Geese would face the most powerful opponent he had ever faced, or likely _would _face. Secretly, the American businessman wondered if showing Goenitz how to fight correctly had been such a bright idea.

"Are you sure you want to go through with this?" Goenitz asked as the entire Kagura clan formed a protective ring around the two men in a forest clearing away from the village, Maki standing guard over Leona. Vice and Mature were also there, in a desperate gamble that somehow, just maybe, Goenitz would release the Orochi inside of them so they too could be exorcised. Needless to say, Vice was a little pessimistic about this hope.

Geese just looked Goenitz straight in the eye. Just five minutes until it would all start. "Yes."

Geese was fighting for something he held very dear: his own life. Well, that, and additional funds to jump-start his organization with. He would not lose.

A/N: Geese's scrape with Leona was nothing like his epic clash against the now super-charged Goenitz, and it seems that even the master of Hakkyokuseiken can't stand up to the unbridled fury of a King of the Orochi! And when things get even worse when Vice and Mature also become one with the Orochi, can the only hope of survival fall upon young Leona and the mysterious blue serpent in Ancient History?


	4. Ancient History

A/N: Alright! Chapter 4 time! I don't own King of Fighters, Fatal Fury, or Art of Fighting, although as of February 17, 2006, I can get to Geese Howard in Art of Fighting 2! Funny, I think he's cooler with long hair… but I digress. Onto the first epic fight of the story!

P.S. I scratched out that Ikari Warriors line from last chapter. It makes no sense that Leona would go there right away, but don't worry! She'll get there eventually.

"Last chance to back out," Goenitz said as he and Geese stared straight into each other. "We have no idea how strong I'll be."

"I'll manage," Geese answered back, "besides, I'm fighting for things I value."

"Money and your own life?"

"Exactly."

Maki, Chizuru, Leona, Vice, and Mature just kept their distance, along with the other Yata clan members, noticing immediately as Goenitz bent over, tendons erupting like cables around is neck and head as he then looked back up, eyes showing a malevolent blue color.

Orochi Goenitz was out, and before Geese could even notice a significant difference in his fighting stance, the German man just stuck his hand out as a huge gust of wind literally blew Geese away.

"I was hoping," the evil man stated as Geese tried to get to his feet, "That you'd be more of a challenge for my new powers." He looked around, seeing the others surrounding him and Geese. He'd deal with them all later, well… not _all _of them.

Two blue beams flew out of his hand, striking both Vice and Mature in their hearts as they too bent over, the people around them running away.

_Well now we got what we wanted,_ Vice thought miserably as she and Mature both coughed up a significant amount of blood, _now I just hope…_ The Orochi overtook her, _That all these bastards die!_

She and Mature jumped down on two fleeing men, slamming their feet into their targets' backs. The sounds of bones _shattering_ erupted from the arena before Maki rammed into Vice and kicked behind her to catch Mature.

"Always trying to cause problems, bitch?" Vice growled as she charged again.

"Maki!" shouted Chizuru as she ran to help her sister, but Maki shook her head as she managed to deflect Vice's kick.

"Just get away from here! If I die, _you_ have to carry the responsibilities of Yata clan!"

Chizuru, like the others there, left Geese and Maki to stem the forces of Japan's greatest evil.

* * *

_Okay…_ Geese thought as he did his best to keep up with the ungodly (if Geese only knew why) Goenitz, but it was rather apparent he was on the defensive, for once.

WHAM! He managed to catch Goenitz with a full power Reppuken, knocking it into the priest's leg and causing the Orochi king to stumble. Geese followed up with a harsh rising kick to the jaw, falling down in the process to knock Goenitz in the gut with his other foot. He rolled away from the monstrosity, hoping he had done at least minor damage.

And Goenitz just laughed, and then grinned wide. Not a single tooth was chipped, not a speck of his own blood on his entire body.

"Geese Howard," Goenitz stated as he suddenly appeared in front of Geese, gutting him with a brutal punch before tossing him around like a rag doll, "God as a little patch of Hell all set out for you, and I'm the man to send you there!" Geese managed to stop himself from being slammed into the ground with his hands, then swung his left hand up into his enemy's groin with all his strength.

The act finally caused Goenitz to show minimal signs of injury, but Geese followed up with immediately with his favorite attack as he freed himself for even more damage. Geese caught Goenitz in the face with an uppercut, knocked away a brutally fast punch, and continued the abuse as best he could. Punches, kicks, uppercuts, knees, elbows, everything Geese had in his repertoire of physical attacks slammed into Goenitz, ending with a particularly painful, glowing, open-faced palm.

And yet Goenitz just backed up a few steps, and wiped the negligible smear of blood from his lips. "Deadly Rave, eh?" Leopold asked, "I never thought a man such as yourself would be so underpowered." A quick glance over to Vice and Mature showed them holding Maki in a stalemate, and unfortunately, no one had died yet. Best to start with the strongest.

Goenitz thrust his hand out again, this time a huge blast of wind knocked into Geese, lifting him up in the air and holding him there. Goenitz then casually walked over to him and punched him…

Right into a tree. Howard was sure he heard bones breaking as he tried to move again, but another intense force of wind held him there as Goenitz again just walked over and smiled. "Your Deadly Rave is a chain of attacks stemming your own emotions, correct?" He asked to the struggling Geese. "Perhaps I can show you how _I_ do it." A blur of rapid-fire punches blasted into Geese's body, and the best the American businessman was able to do was dodge enough that no vital area of his body was hit.

"Stop!" cried a voice as Goenitz turned away from the black and blue Geese to see that little girl standing there, Leona.

Goenitz just smiled. "_Four_ Orochi awakened today?" He laughed. "Perfect." Another blue cable struck out of his hand, this time catching its target in the head. The little girl's eyes went wide and she howled in pain as a strange blue aura enveloped her and her hair again turned blood red…

Yet no blood frothed from her mouth, it seemed that something quite different had emerged in the little girl. Leona just stared back at Goenitz, and for the first moment of his new life, the Orochi in him recoiled.

"You made a mistake in breaching the doors of exorcism inside of me," Leona said in a confident voice of someone that acted older than they actually were. "For a far more powerful snake has taken the Orochi's place inside of me."

Goenitz, looking back at Geese, smacked him across the face to knock him unconscious, letting the exhausted man fall to the ground, and then turned back to Leona.

"I see, and may I have the name of the being I am fighting?" Goenitz asked, deciding to end this fight quickly.

"It's still Leona, Orochi. But if you're asking for the serpent god inside of me, it's Aido-Hwedo."

"Never heard of- grg," Goenitz grunted as Leona had managed to get the drop on him, kicking his kneecap with the heel of her foot. He struggled back and struck the girl across the face, sending Leona spiraling. Another gust of wind, pulled her back to him, but Leona angled and spun with the attack, and when the young servant of this "Aido-Hwedo" came thundering back, her small feet pounded into Goenitz's stomach.

_What? _Goenitz thought as he stumbled away. _The power of this Aido-Hwedo possibly exceeds my own! Master, what has happened?_

Yet the Orochi was silent, for it too was afraid of what it had unleashed: one of its own kind. All it told Goenitz was to kill Leona, quickly, mercilessly, and above _all_ else, right here and right now.

Goenitz complied, managing to catch the creature in its throat and began squeezing. Leona struggled against the grip, yet it seemed that even Aido-Hwedo had his (or possibly her) limits for such a little girl. Leona managed to break free, but she almost immediately had to face Goenitz in front of her again.

Leona, having no possible fighting skills prior, was merely following what the blue snake told her, but it could only do so much against a disciplined man of god now strengthened by the Orochi and obtaining great speed, skill, and strength almost instantaneously.

Leona ducked under a swift kick, rolled to her back, kicked upwards, and managed to hit Goenitz's left leg hard enough for the King of the Orochi to cry out in pain. Leona didn't see the other leg coming, however, and was punted hard into Maki, who had just succeeded in knocking both Vice and Mature out thanks to illusions with the Mirror of Yata to distract them. Both Maki and Leona slumped down, fazed and unable to offer resistance as Goenitz walked up to them, ready for the killing blows.

_Finally Master, our victory is assured,_ Goenitz thought before he caught a hard kick to the back of the head. He turned to see… Geese standing there, bloody, bruised, but seemingly victorious.

"You've lost a lot of your power from that little girl, didn't you?" Geese asked as he managed to form a decent stance. He was going at less than quarter power, but he was hoping Goenitz was even lower.

Goenitz didn't even bother changing his stance, he just returned the favor and struck Geese hard across the face.

Some hope. And yet… the attack seemed easy enough to recover from, and Geese managed to knee up into Goenitz's gut. He slammed his fists down as Goenitz doubled over, finishing up the chain with one good planting of his foot into the German's face.

Needless to say, it Goenitz did _not_ instantly recover from that round of abuse, yet Geese felt his own strength quickly fading.

"Damn you!" the Orochi-powered man howled in frustration, "I will _not_ lose to a man that values nothing!" He charged again, noticing Geese leaping into the air and falling back, slashing down with a Chi-powered chop.

"'Values nothing'?" Geese repeated as he slashed across Goenitz's face and again managed to knock him away. "Don't compare me to Bogard." But his legs gave out… he was out of steam, and Goenitz (beaten as badly as he was) was the winner.

"Just die," Goenitz said as another spurt of wind blasted into Howard as the American just gave up. He just gave up… on trying to survive this fight. His life was something he held very dearly, but maintaining his high win-loss ratio was something more important.

He would not lose.

As the gust thundered towards Geese, tearing the ground of the now blood red field, he reached deep inside of him for one, just _one_ Reppuken. He found the strength he never thought was there and slammed it into the ground, charging underneath the ground wave, using it as a windshield against the attack and rolling right into Goenitz's face to just punch and kick. There was no grace, there was no style. Geese just punched and kicked into Goenitz's torso, ignoring the fact when he could barely lift his legs anymore and compensating for trying to punch harder and harder.

And then everything went black.

* * *

_Huh? Oh shit. I'm dead._

_You'd like to think that, wouldn't you, Geese._

_Master Tung! What are you doing here?_

_I'm not here, considering this is just your mind and you're hallucinating. Now who's the senile old man!_

_Very funny, sir. Now do you have a reason for being here?_

Actually, yes. Good job out there. You took down… 

"…A King of the Orochi!" shouted a voice as Geese woke up, finding himself in a hut. Standing around him was a celebrating Goenitz, Maki, Chizuru, Vice, Mature, and a whole host of other Yata clan members. They all had their various scrapes and cuts -or scars, in Goenitz's case-, but they'd all recover.

Geese looked down at himself, seeing he was bandaged up quite a bit and his hakama outfit had been removed in return for a similar white, one-piece robe. He quickly realized his entire body ached like utter hell, and tried to dismiss the people around him as best he could.

"Thank you very much," Geese said, "But I'm am crippled and would prefer being alone to recover."

"If you insist," Maki said as they group left, leaving Geese alone to do some quality thinking. Slowly, some concepts came to his head.

One, considering Goenitz had jumped from pansyass to God in about five seconds convinced Geese that the Orochi power was not to be trifled with. Of course, Geese would rather not like to go crazy and kill everyone around him, considering what good was having all the power when there wasn't anyone to flaunt it over?

Two, Geese had learned there _were_ people stronger than him, as hard as it was to admit. And with taking the Orochi power out of the question, Geese was stuck with just plain old training.

Three, that "Aido-Hwedo" was also not to be trifled with, but until he did research, this second snake would be even more of a mystery. At least he knew the Orochi legends…

And finally, Geese expected to receive the funds he had been promised by the end of the week.

* * *

Leona sighed as she wondered how she could so easily pack up all her belongings into a single bag.

"Hello?" asked a voice as Leona turned to see Chizuru standing there in her red biker jumpsuit. "I just wanted to say thanks for today and saving my sister and all."

Leona nodded before chuckling in a depressed manner. "Yeah. Any idea what this Aido-Hwedo is, anyways?"

"Just some old snake god from an African creation myth," Chizuru answered. "So it seems there's more than one ancient snake out there."

"Well," Leona said as she walked outside, "I've gotta go. Did you find an orphanage suitable yet?"

Chizuru nodded. "Yeah. So what'll you do?"

"Don't know. Probably find some sort of group later on that would help me hunt down the other four Orochi and seal them away. I'll keep in touch, though.

* * *

"No sign of the Orochi in you either," Maki stated as Vice finally could let off her pessimistic outlook for a short bit. So far, both Vice and Mature had checked out Orochi-free, and now it was just Goenitz's turn. Maki place the Mirror of Yata on to his head and delved deep, making sure that this was not just some underhanded trick.

Maki quickly sized up the surroundings as a fairly mountainous region, with significant wind blowing around. What caught Maki's eye was a giant, Aztec style pyramid right in front of her that seemed completely out of place. Cautiously, Maki walked up the steps, keeping an eye out for anything else that seemed out of place.

The pyramid was larger than Maki had thought, and her trek up it took a long while, but at the top, Maki looked around and saw a strange green jewel on the ground. Maki walked over to it and picked it up, and on closer inspection realized it was an _egg_.

Slowly, the egg cracked open, and Maki gasped. In her hands looked to be something that she was confused by. It looked like a cross between a small action figure, a snake, and a bird. It was in the shape of a person, yet its skin was dark green and various feathers were on it in certain places.

"Oh, hello," the little creature asked, shocking Maki almost enough to drop it. "Oh, sorry about this talking thing. Would you mind putting me down, I'd like to stretch my legs."

Bewildered, Maki complied and put the creature down as it almost instantaneously grew up to an average height for an adult male. "Who… exactly are you?"

"Well, technically I'm a part of Leopold," the snake-man answered. "I'm sort of like the Orochi considering we both have people we're reincarnated as."

"Like with Leona and that Aido-Hwedo snake thing?"

"Exactly!" The creature answered. "I guess you could say Goenitz is like my reincarnation."

"But who _are_ you?" Maki asked, confused.

"Quetzocoatl," the being answered while bowing down. "One of the seven serpents of legend."

"_SEVEN?_" Maki almost shrieked. _Six _more creatures like the Orochi out there? Not good at all!

"Not like that!" Quetzocoatl said, shaking his hands in front of him in an attempt to calm Maki down. "Okay. I guess I'll have to start from the beginning…"

* * *

"Wow, Athena!" said a number of kindergartners around her, amazed at her incredible stories about her donning ancient armor and fighting evil. "You have the best stories!"

"But they're not stories!" Athena Asamiya said in a frustrated tone. "They really _did_ happen!"

Of course, none of the students really believed her, and the young girl was stuck with another lunch time alone sitting on the grass. Slowly, Athena worked her way through her meal, crying quietly until a boy walked up to her.

"You okay?" asked the boy as Athena looked up at him. She quickly wiped away the tears and sighed.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Kyo Kusanagi," the boy answered. "I'm in fourth grade. I hear you tell great stor- I mean, you talk about your great adventures."

"Really?" Athena asked, looking up at the boy. "Do you really mean that?"

"Yeah. Why don't you tell me about some of them?"

A/N: The secret's out! Not only are there eight people out there powered with the Orochi, but there are also six more people that are the reincarnations of ancient serpent gods! Of course, Geese is in the mood to head back to Southtown and rebuild his criminal empire, but a few things are standing in his way… like creating a new identity in Delayed Travels.

P.S. Athena is just enough years away from Kyo so if Kyo has to repeat each grade of high school once, then they'll graduate in the same year. I planned it that way.

Also! Since Goenitz, Vice, and Mature are no longer Orochi-powered (and Vice and Mature won't work for Rugal) they will have entirely new movesets! Unfortunately, I'm not THAT creative to renovate three characters that much, so this is _your_ chance to lend a hand in creating attacks and moves!

Example: (follow this pattern)

Name: West Wind  
Used by: Goenitz  
Type of move: projectile/keep away  
Level of power: not that much  
Description: Goenitz thrusts his hand out and a gust of wind slams into his enemy, knocking them back. The heavier they are, the less they will travel.


	5. Delayed Travels

A/N: Wow. My first non-Geese centric chapter. What an achievement! I don't own Fatal Fury, the Art of Fighting, or the King of Fighters.

Unfortunately for Geese, he was _not_ out of the Kagura clan grounds by the end of the week due to his injuries, which infuriated Geese to no end. Vice, Mature, and Goenitz had already left, with further information about these seven mythical serpents; Leona had gone to the closest orphanage of a suitable level; and Maki and Chizuru had kept most of the other details to the still bed-ridden American.

What Geese _could_ glean was that the Orochi had tried to stop Goenitz's reincarnation as Quetzocoatl by selecting him as the Orochi King of Wind, and done a damn good job at it as well. Likewise, by being the reincarnation of the African creation serpent "Aido-Hwedo", the Orochi managed to bypass the Kagura exorcism, explaining why Leona had been able to undergo the Riot of Blood.

Everything else was a blank for Geese, unfortunately. Where he fit into this grand scheme of things, or anything further dealing with the Kusanagi, Yata, and Yakashi clans, was anyone's guess.

But on the plus side, Geese (using an alias) had called a banker in Southtown and discovered that he did, in fact, have more than enough money now in a Swiss bank account to easily retire in prosperity.

So things were balanced out, at least for now. Now if he could only move his arms, the story would have a happy ending.

* * *

Ryo and Robert both matched each other move-for-move in the wintery landscapes of China, each one of them knowing full well what the other was capable of.

The two men were still anguishing over their humiliating defeat against Geese Howard, and had trained day after day, hoping they'd be able to exact their revenge. Then they had heard Geese had died in Japan, and the two men still focused. When something dark like a corrupt businessman died, someone else would take his place. Little did they know that the person in question was much, _much_ worse.

Ryo managed to send a thunderous kick into Robert's side, but the Italian slid with the attack, jumped into the air, and planted his foot into Ryo's face. The two men then fell away from each other, gathering up all the ki they could for one, all-or-nothing attack.

"Haoh-sho-ko-ken!" they screamed in unison as one blue and one orange projectile slammed into each other, a massive release of energy resulting in them both being knocked back.

When the dust settled, neither one of them were conscious, although Takuma and Yuri had heard the explosion and literally came running to aid their fellow students.

* * *

"What's the point, Ryo?" Robert asked for the umpteenth time as they relaxed in a hot springs. "The King of Fighters tournament has been closed down, Geese is dead, and our training can only go so far here."

"It's not that…" his best friend sighed, "It's just… I don't know. We've made a lot of improvements here, that's obvious, but I still think we need to get better."

"Ryo, training isn't everything," Robert chuckled. "I mean, I enjoy training here because I love it and Yuri too..." He took the initiative and dodged to the side before Ryo even tried to kick him, "But you can't just spend days honing your form so much you wear yourself out. Besides, what about King?"

Ryo blushed almost immediately. "What are you talking about?"

"Well… it's real obvious you both like each other and we _did_ help pay for her little brother's operation. And then she said she could almost kiss us both…"

"Like she'd want to go out with me? I ripped off her shirt when we first fought!" Ryo said, desperately wishing this discussion would end soon.

"So? I wasn't going to mention that. She still holds a lot of respect for you, and the next time you two fought she ripped off _your_ shirt, so you're even!" He laughed, and slowly Ryo unwound. Maybe at least _calling_ King wasn't a bad idea. What the Hell… do it right now. Well, not _right_ now…

Ryo waited until Robert stood up to blast his brains in with a fireball.

* * *

"Thanks again," King said as her two assistants, Sally and Elizabeth, helped her close up for the night at her bar, her baby. This thing was her life, and she enjoyed the fact it was profitable, very profitable. Just as she was finishing up, a phone rang, so the Muay Thai female kickboxer walked over to it and picked it up.

"Hello?" she asked, wondering who would call at this hour. "Oh, hello, Ryo!" King said cheerfully.

"Same to you," Ryo answered back.

"Where are you calling from?"

Ryo gulped, dreading what was going to happen next. "…China…"

"CHINA? RYO! THE COST OF THIS CALL IS GONNA BE OBSCENE! Wait a second, Robert's paying for it, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, then let's talk for as long as we need," King laughed as she waved her hand, letting Elizabeth and Sally know they could leave.

It was good to hear from Ryo again and find out what he was doing. Not surprisingly, it was mostly training. But Ryo knew there were better things to hear about, and quickly asked King how life was for her.

Southtown was essentially at a crossroads, she said. No criminal mastermind had yet filled in Geese's void, but one young kid was known to pick fights with people. He and his brother had even taken down the remaining members of Geese' organization with ease.

"He cause any problems for you?" Ryo asked, King quickly answered.

"Nah, he's usually just busy beating the crap out of people in fighting rings. Well, that or down at Lard Burgers and buying out their stock of food."

"Oh crap," Ryo muttered to himself before explaining to King. "Robert just went into Yuri's room. I'd really like to keep talking but-"

"Just go," King said. "Good to talk you again. Any idea when you'll be coming back?"

"Probably a few more weeks. Dad wants to start up the Southtown dojo again."

"Okay. See you soon."

* * *

Goenitz rubbed his eyes as he sat outside of a conference room as the Roman Catholic cardinals where discussing the plausibility of the Orochi threat and the other six serpents, only two of which were accounted for.

Goenitz knew he was Quetzocoatl, the feathered serpent of Aztec legend and god of wind and Leona was the reincarnation of the African creation snake, Aido-Hwedo. The Orochi, it seemed, had attempted to stop both Leona and Goenitz from assuming their powers by choosing them as two of the Orochi's servants.

Of course, four of the Orochi's servants were sealed away for good now, and it had two of the six other serpents awakened to deal with.

Vice and Mature were off to the side, and Goenitz saw they had stopped playing Egyptian-Ratscrew and had settled for Rock-Paper-Scissors, with Vice grunting in frustration every time she lost, which was pretty often.

"Try not using a pattern," the German priest pointed out after watching it go on for a few moments.

"Whatever," Vice said as she gave up, closed her eyes, and relaxed into the chair. "Wake me up when those old farts finally get done."

Mature sighed as well and tried to get some sleep as Goenitz walked down to a bathroom and took a look. His appearance had changed greatly since his return from Japan, mainly he had shaved and he actually had physical muscles. Leopold also knew how to actually fight now, and it seemed that since his Orochi element (wind) actually matched his Serpent God element, so at the very least, Goenitz also could get the hang of using various wind techniques as well… maybe even flight.

A knocking at the door knocked Goenitz out of thought, so he splashed some water on his face and asked who was there.

"Just me, boss," Vice's voice said. "They finally finished up in there."

* * *

"Leopold," said one of the other men of the cloth as Goenitz sat down among them. "We've reviewed your historical evidence and also the spiritual energies that have been emanating from you…"

"And?"

"We've decided that there is only one fate for you and the others," said one of the men, standing up. "Excommunication."

"WHAT!" Goenitz shouted, doing his best to keep his powers from being made manifested.

"The existence of these serpents, as you know, completely undermines the Christian faith," explained another. "The problem rests in the fact that we cannot permit something possibly bringing our religion's demise to be brought to public knowledge."

"So either I stay quiet and bring about no reference of this to he public's eyes _despite_ the fact that ignoring it won't make it go away," Goenitz assumed, "Or all chances of me getting the final rights on my deathbed…"

"Gone. Understand that God will provide for these serpent's defeat on his own terms, and we will pray for you as well."

"Even if we already have the power to stop the Orochi _with_ these serpents? I suspect God has already provided for us the means to stop it."

"That is not for you to decide."

Goenitz sighed. "Well then, I'm stuck in a conflict of interest…" He stood up. If the religion he had put so much faith in had turned its back to him, then it would be best he did the same. He raised his right hand up…

And flicked off the entire congregation of priests before tossing off his priest's collar. "If that's the case, I'll wave to you when you're all in Hell." He walked out, ignoring the shocked exclamations and motioned to Vice and Mature that they were ready to leave.

"How'd it go?"

"Not bad. Just going to Hell."

* * *

"Bad luck, huh?" Geese asked while he talked with a handless phone to Goenitz.

"Could be worse. At the very least they're not going to send somebody of to capture me. Besides, with my recent adventures in Japan, I'm seriously considering going native."

"Sounds good. Of course, anything sounds good right now."

"How many bones did I end up breaking, by the way?"

"Most of them in my appendicular system… so just my arms and legs pretty much. I'll be on my feet by the time you get back here."

"I hope you're not planning on trying to take the Mirror of Yata," Goenitz said, wondering if the man he had trusted would backstab him in a moment of weakness.

"The Mirror? That thing is going to take _years_ to master! I'd be better off just getting back to Southtown and getting my life back on track."

"What for?"

"I want to pay a few respects."

* * *

The twenty men all charged, mercilessly sending their fists straight at their target… Only to see him duck down and then spin up, firing up into the air foot-first in the move he had passionately named the "Rising Tackle." The men went down with a deafening thud as the sixteen-year-old Terry Bogard then turned and went down on each one, slamming his fists into each one's head harshly.

When Terry walked out of the fighting ring, there was no sign of life in any of them. His trademark baseball cap was still on his head without signs of wear, but the young man had a frustrated look on his face.

It just wasn't a challenge anymore. His father had told him to be ruthless in fighting, ignoring everything and just strive to win, all to get revenge on Geese Howard for taking his father's title as the heir of Hakkyokuseiken and then his father's life.

Known to some as the "Hungry Wolf" (partly due to his eating habits), it meant certain death to enter into a fighting ring against him for more than a minute, but Terry liked it, at least at first. Walk in, bash a few skulls in, walk away with a few thousand bucks, and then invest them into a bank account he had _persuaded_ the teller to give 50 percent interest to, compounded continuously. (A/N: That means the amount of money in his account increases constantly at a high rate. Most interest rates don't even go to 10.)

Of course, it wasn't like he made himself into the villain of those situations… it was all just very generous repayment in exchange for dealing with bank robbers… which had conveniently decided to sacrifice themselves to their families could retire in prosperity, under Terry's loving hands.

There were those that disliked him, but that was to understood. They were ants to be crushed.

* * *

Maki furrowed her brow as she looked down at the list in front of her, with much of it filled out, save for a few points.

Here's how it read:

Shesha: Indian creation serpent. Element: Light. Reincarnation: Unknown.  
Quetzocoatl: Aztec god of the sun, sky, and agriculture. Element: Wind. Reincarnation: Goenitz.  
Aido-Hwedo: African snake whose body makes up the world. Element: Water. Reincarnation: Leona.  
Hydra: Greek serpent demon that regrew severe heads. Element: Life. Reincarnation: Unknown.  
Jormungandr: Norse serpent that will destroy the world on Ragnarok with its poison. Element: Death. Reincarnation: Unknown.  
Apophis: Egyptian serpent of Chaos. Element: Darkness. Reincarnation: Unknown.  
Orochi: Eight-headed snake demon of Japan. Element: Fire. Reincarnation: Unknown.

Seven snakes from different parts of the globe, each from one of the great cultures of the ancient world. Each that helped create the world… yet with different goals in mind, or at least that's what Quetzocoatl told her.

Two were accounted for, and Maki suspected that one of the Orochi's servants would be the creature's reincarnation. So that left four others…

"Maki, he's back," Chizuru said, knocking the older Kagura sister out of thought. Goenitz soon walked into the clearing, baggage in his hands as Vice and Mature brought in some of the others. After helping him find a place to store them, Maki and Goenitz sat down in private to review the situation.

"I heard it didn't go well," Maki started, wondering if the rumors she heard about him were true.

"Bunch of old, conservative men," Goenitz sighed, "Clinging to medieval ideas in a modern age. They need to change with the times."

"Like you have?" Maki asked. Goenitz smiled and looked up at the roof.

"I know of the threat of the Orochi more than almost anyone on the planet. I'm just thankful that in its place I have a power that's my own. I won't be some puppet for a giant worm."

"Even though you technically _are_ one?" Maki asked, giggling once.

"If you think so," Goenitz stated. "Whatever the case, I've decided on what the right thing to do is."

"What's that?"

Goenitz stood up, "I'll take the fight to the Orochi. We've already exorcised four of the eight, and I might still be able to bring out the Orochi in them, due to my status."

"You can't do that on your own, you know. Since your title as priest has been revoked," Maki started as she stood up, "I suspect you'll need some help." She produced the Mirror of Yata from her robes and smiled. "Of course, there's theOrochi seal to protect?"

"I'm sure Geese wouldn't mind keeping an eye on it in return for a few hundred million more."

* * *

"Are you sure you want to go through with this?" Goenitz asked as he stared down the still recovering Geese. "I mean, you're not fully healed yet."

"Broken arms are no matter to me," Geese said, assuming the best defensive stance he could. His bandaged arms were bound and grasping his shoulders, leaving him with just his legs to fight with.

The two charged, and Goenitz noticed a smile on Geese's face as the clashed. Surprisingly, Geese must've done something like this before, using the speed of long-range kicks to keep Goenitz from getting into punching range. And then of course, there was the fact that Geese somehow managed to throw a Reppuken…

With his feet.

"You're getting a lot better," Geese remarked as Goenitz managed to get past his defenses and punch him a few times with modest damage. The German had decided it would be better to avoid using much of his Serpent God powers, just enough so Geese really had to work to win, but it was still a good fight, and when it ended, neither knew who had really won.

"Oh, and one more thing," Goenitz said, hoping his American friend was in a good mood, "Would you mind staying here for another year or two?"

"WHAT?" Geese shouted, charging. Goenitz then decided to go all out and just knock Howard out with one punch. He'd explain later, once he was gone.

A/N: Two more years will flash by, and it will be New Years Eve of 1988 when Geese Howard finally returns to Southtown, eight years after he left, under a pseudonym. Yet a chance encounter with Marie Heinlein will differ from what happened in the original storyline. Of course, there are still a few people out for Geese's blood, and he'll have to do his best to avoid them in Just Visiting.

Also, bonus points to anyone that guesses correctly ANY of the reincarnations. And by the way, yes, Chris is still the Orochi's reincarnation. My only request is you take a guess at all four of the remaining mystery people: Jormungandr, Apophis, the Hydra, and Shesha, so when I tell you that you got "X number" right, you won't immediately realize which ones.

Unless of course, you get Jormungandr right. If you do, I'll worship the ground you stand on.


	6. Just Visiting

A/N: Well… the start of the "Return to Southtown" Arc, which will focus on Geese's efforts to reclaim the city from Terry Bogard and also his first meeting with much of the Fatal Fury crew! But enough talk, time for action! I don't own King of Fighters, Art of Fighting, Fatal Fury, or Street Fighter. And no. Under NO circumstances is this fanfiction going to be a SVC crossover. Or at least not for the actual story… maybe for the Omake it will be…

Geese was busy training against several Kagura clan members when he heard the now thirteen-year-old Chizuru cheer with happiness from a phone call.

"THEY DID IT! THEY'RE COMING HOME!" The part time biker ran through the village, cheering happily as the others erupted into chorus, Geese included.

So they actually had managed to exorcise the Orochi. That meant two things: freedom, and lots of money, both of which Geese enjoyed greatly. And with any luck this time, he'd be able to head home with no strings attached. Hopefully.

"Seven out of the eight, not bad," Geese mused as he sat down with Maki and Goenitz.

"Even though we're missing one, it doesn't really matter anyways," Maki elaborated. "We've taken care of 'Chris' the reincarnation of the Orochi and he's fine. So we've effectively stopped its return in its tracks."

"And the missing Orochi?" Geese asked, wondering who it was.

Goenitz shrugged. "For the moment, we wait. Whoever it is, they're not easy to track down, even with my Serpent God powers."

"Speaking of which…" Geese started again, but Goenitz shook his head.

"Just me, Leona, and Chris are accounted for. So still four unknowns."

"But we _would_, like to thank you for your services, Mr. Howard," Maki said while smiling, "So here." She produced from her robes a single airplane ticket. Geese went for it, but Maki pulled it back. "Understand, Mr. Howard, that this is a _privilege_. If I hear that you turned Southtown once again into a criminal hotbed, Leopold and I may just have to pay you a less-than-hospitable visit. Are we clear?"

Geese nodded. "Crystal clear."

* * *

Sounds of gunfire erupted as a tall and lanky man lead a strike force of mercenaries into the base, gunning down enemies left and right. "Check for hostages!" the commander shouted as his gun clicked as he pulled the trigger. He was out of ammo, but it was no manner. The man known simply as "Heidern" simply jumped over his next assailant in the hallway and spun around him, breaking the guard's neck.

His two best men, Ralf Jones and Clark Steel, were right behind him as they all opted for their bare hands as opposed to firearms. It didn't stop them from ripping through every single person in their way. This was war, and war meant death.

Heidern quickly rounded the bend and motioned for Ralf and Clark to go the other way. "I'll deal with the madman! You two take out the hanger!" Ralf and Clark both knew better than to question Heidern and went the other way as the man furrowed his brow. On the door was a massive red letter "R".

Rugal never was one for subtlety.

Heidern stepped through anyways, and was not surprised that the room was completely dark.

"Such the hero, eh Heidern?" came a voice as the light flicked on around the man in front of him. The German was far more muscular than Heidern, and it was obvious.

"You know why I'm here alone, Rugal," his adversary stated plainly.

"Of course! You're here because you want to take me down on your own and be the big man, right?" Rugal smiled and snapped his finger. "Well tough luck. After all, you wouldn't want _them_ to get hurt, would you?" Hiedern's eyes immediately fell down onto two female silhouettes hanging from ropes. It was too dark to tell who they were, but Heidern knew. "You love your wife and daughter very much, don't you?"

"Leave Sandra and Clara out of this!" Heidern growled, clenching his fist. He took a step forward, but Rugal just took a single step towards the figures. Heidern immediately stopped moving.

"Good," Rugal said while smiling. "And know that even if one muscle, just _one_ muscle in your entire body tightens in an act of defiance, they die."

It was over in one move, and Heidern was on the ground, his right eye now a bleeding mess and his body ruined. Rugal laughed and walked away into the darkness as Hiedern tried to stand up, but he couldn't.

"Dammit! GET BACK HERE!" Heidern shouted as Rugal stopped and turned. The stronger man smiled.

"No, mercenary. I want you to live. I want you to be driven into the dirt forever, so when we meet next time, you will beg me to kill you. And I won't. I'll just take away what you love… again."

Rugal turned on the lights as he left, showing two bodies, already dead, hanging from the ropes.

* * *

"Wow, King, you… uh…" Ryo stuttered as the kickboxer arrived at the restaurant's lobby as he, Robert, Takuma, and Yuri waited for the last member of their party. King was wearing an elegant light-green dress that left a healthy amount to the imagination and still looked very good on her. Robert had helped Ryo and Takuma find tuxedos, and Yuri was also wearing a dress, although it differed from King's in color (blue) and size (smaller to fit Yuri's shorter height).

"What are you talking about?" King said as she leaned forward towards him and smiled. "This is a fancy dinner! You think I'd just wear any old suit I have?"

"Well, no but-"

"I didn't expect you to wear a beat up and ripped gi," King cried out in mock sorrow resulting in Takuma, Robert, and Yuri's laughter, "So why… why is it so hard to believe that an attractive woman would wear a _dress,_ of all things, for a dinner!" Ryo was effectively embarrassed, but was already plotting a revenge scheme as they walked down into the restaurant. The others gave Ryo and King plenty of room to talk and (to Takuma's hope) possibly something more. For the moment, those five were not martial artists who had been brought together due to Yuri's kidnapping almost a decade ago. For the moment, they were just five friends enjoying a fine, Italian dinner.

* * *

_My first meal in two years not to have rice in it…_ Geese thought as he walked into that same restaurant ten minutes later, enjoying the freedom of being in Southtown once again. He had another stop to make later this night, but with an impressive bank account, he could afford to take a break before business.

"Uh, I don't understand," came a quiet voice as Geese saw that at podium a woman with long blonde hair and a white dress was having trouble. "I know I set the reservation two days in advanced."

Geese immediately recognized the German accent; spending time talking with Goenitz had helped him recognize certain dialects in question. He walked over and looked at the woman. Geese noticed that above all else, her eyes stood out. They were red, but a soft red that seemed restrained and gentle.

"Is there a problem here?" Geese asked to the man, deciding to put on the old Howard charm.

"No sir. It's just that-"

"It's just that he conveniently can't find my reservation," the woman stated again, with a slight edge in her tone.

"Ma'am, it's not that we can't find it, it's just that it was canceled by a man claiming to be your younger brother."

The woman looked down at the ground and sighed. "Kain…"

"Here," Geese said as he pulled out a stack of twenties and tossed it to the man. "She's with me. I'm sure that it's not unreasonable to just assume her brother and I arranged for me to have dinner with her, isn't it?"

The man looked down at the roster again and flipped through it. "Ah… Mr. Masters…"

Geese nodded. Sometimes a simple name was the best to avoid attention with. "That's me. Now I do believe the lady and I would like some dinner." He took the woman by the hand and gently led her into the dining area and sat down.

"Thank you," the woman said as she looked at Geese once again with those red eyes. "I greatly appreciate what you just did. My brother loves me dearly, it's just… Kain rarely takes anything seriously."

"It's okay," Geese answered. "I've been out of town for awhile and I know what it's like to have to deal with people that don't understand who you are. Incidentally, who _are_ you?"

"Oh. My name is Marie Heinlein. My family moved to Southtown not too long ago and I just wanted to go out on my own once and a while to see what the city is like. Crime is at an all-time low thanks to that Bogard kid, also, so it ironically is a good place to live after that Geese Howard fellow controlled it a decade ago."

Geese almost lost his composure when she said that, but he stayed focused. For the moment, he was Ken Masters, intelligent, abrasive, just having returned from Japan on business, and a damn good fighter. He asked her a few questions about herself, trying to avoid anything about money, which it was obvious she was loaded even more than he was.

* * *

"We've found a couple more bodies like this one," said a young police detective as she and her partner talked to the doctor in the morgue. Her jean jacket and pants were blue, as her nickname applied, but underneath the jacket was a red t-shirt with a police badge hanging from her neck.

Her partner wore a different, more casual outfit, but they both still looked the part of undercover detectives as they explained the problems to the doctor.

It seemed that someone had been entering Southtown morgues and stealing the bodies, well just the vital organs. Hearts, kidneys, eyes, all the things that could catch five or six-digit numbers on the black market. Except now they were also springing up in underground fighting circuits; specifically the ones that Terry Bogard had been fighting in.

"So how much would a human body be worth if you stripped a body of all it was worth?" Blue Mary Ryan asked as her partner, a man named "Butch" started walking up the stairs to phone-in a report.

The doctor shrugged. "If you sell to the highest bidder, well, a few of these would net you a million, possibly two." His attention turned to the bodies salvaged from the fighting rings. "But I've never seen someone kill without leaving any significant sign of injury. Look at this!" He moved gloved hands to the cadaver's chest and opened it up. "In all my life, such precision in a punch!"

Mary looked down. Although she herself was not a doctor, her grandfather had been an expert of Kobojutsu and even taught her quite a bit too. She had learned that the human sternum, if hit hard enough, could cause the smallest part, the "Xiphoid process", to break off, resulting in that person's death. They said that was how Geese Howard had killed Bogard way back in '82.

Every single body killed by Terry was said to have happened in the exactly same way.

"So Bogard Jr. is going around, killing people the way his dad died?" Mary concluded. The doctor nodded.

"By just breaking that small part off, the only part of the human body worth something to a buyer would be the process itself, which is filled with bone marrow, and the heart, which it impales."

_Lose money to make money_, Mary thought as she thanked the doctor and walked away, _Just like Bogard's bank gimmick. Have a bunch of guys stage a bank robbery in return for splitting some of the take with their families, kill the guys, get a reward in the process, and then give a small amount to the families in return. _

The Bogard case was not one Mary particularly liked, just because of the callousness that Terry would kill people with. At least people said Geese Howard, a bastard if there ever was one, would only kill you if you crossed him, his organization, or you were costing him money. And usually he'd fire a warning shot so obvious that only a blind, deaf, dumb person wouldn't notice it. The Sakazakis were like that. But Terry… he didn't hold anything dear in his own realm of control: the fighting arenas.

A scream knocked Mary out of her train of thought as she ran up the flight of stairs. But it was too late.

Standing there, over Butch's dead body, was Terry Bogard.

"Consider this a warning," he said as he looked at Mary with nothing but hatred. "Don't stop me from cleaning up Southtown in my own way… or this will happen to your grandfather too." He turned and walked away from her, but Mary would have nothing of it.

"What makes you better than anyone else?" Mary shouted as she looked down at Butch's body. No sign of death, obviously done in Terry's old way. "What gives you the right to kill a police officer that was just looking into the murders _you_ caused!"

Terry stopped, turned around, and walked back. He was straight in Mary's face, inches away, the two blonde eighteen year olds just looking at each other with nothing but hatred. Terry struck first, and slapped her hard enough across the face to actually cut her. Mary fell to the ground, expecting to be raped or killed by this man. It was dark and almost midnight, so nobody would hear or see it. But Terry just looked down at her. "My dad used to say society always rewards the weak, the selfish, the arrogant. I have plans for this city that will change that. As I said before, stay out of my way or everything you lose will be lost." Terry smiled and then walked away. "And then you'll be just like me. You'll give up on the effectiveness of law enforcement when people just say 'it was a martial arts tournament, and Jeff was going to try to kill Geese anyways'. So either stay out of my way of reshaping this town, or I'll have an unlikely accomplice in you."

Terry said nothing more as he disappeared into the night.

* * *

"I sorta have been missing out on a lot of things going on in Southtown for a long while," Geese said as he and Marie walked down the moonlit street. "Been busy helping out a few friends in Japan."

"Doing what?" Marie asked, wondering what was going on.

"Well… they needed to head out on business and I ended up keeping an eye on some of their belongings for two years."

"Two whole years?"

"Business sometimes takes a long time," Geese answered as he looked down at her and smiled. He stopped and looked at her as she turned back towards him. "Look, I've had a really good time with you tonight, but I do have an old friend I need to check up on and I'd prefer if I'd do it alone."

"Male or female?" Marie asked as she leaned forward, with a grin on her face. It was time to test an unlikely suspicion.

Geese gulped for a second. "What?"

"Male or female? Am I just an appetizer for you to prep yourself on for a later date or something?" Marie asked, her eyes somehow now showing a different king of piercing intensity, but still with traces of that gentleness.

"Male. Of course male! Wait…No! Not like that! It's just…" Geese sighed. "I used to train with an old martial arts master and I haven't seem him in twelve years. I just wanted to see how he was doing."

"Oh. Well then have fun," Marie said as Geese smiled and walked away. _Geese Howard_, she added silently. His unfazed remarks at the name earlier that dinner had tipped her off, and his sudden stuttering later on proved that Geese had been going through a routine. It had been easy enough to figure out what had been the truth, what had been modified, and what had been outright lies.

And yet, Marie saw Geese as a different man than what she had heard of. He seemed more honest, and he didn't even come with a bodyguard, not that it was likely that he actually had one. He seemed, at least at that dinner, to just be enjoying himself and the company she had offered. And he hadn't even brought up the money issue at all.

_Perhaps Geese Howard wasn't such a terrible man,_ she thought as the subject of her thoughts rounded a block and was gone.

* * *

It was almost two o'clock in the morning when Geese entered Master Tung Fu Rue's old dojo, but he knew the old man was awake. Once a month, Tung would drag his students out of bed for a nightly training session to see how well they would fare when the situation was against them. Geese had picked this date because he suspected it was the day Tung would do it.

Sure enough, when Geese entered the training ground, there were a number of sleepy bodies going through their forms and sparring against each other (one of them with a thin red staff), and standing there, the most awake of all, was Master Tung.

"Can I help you?" the man asked as Geese walked up to him.

"No… I just used to train here and wanted to see how it was going." Geese answered.

Tung smiled as he looked up at the man in front of him, who he had put significant trust in so long ago…

"Geese," Master Tung said as he hugged his former student.

A/N: As Terry Bogard reshapes his own criminal empire to one that makes Geese's like a walk in the park, several unlikely heroes must band together in the year 1992… for the return of the King of Fighters tournament! But Terry has a few more aces up his sleeve, and Geese will first have to test his metal against the undisputed master of the Shiranui ninjitsu… Andy Bogard in Battle for the Crown!


	7. Battle for the Crown

A/N: Finally! I'm almost at the point to introduce my original character! Don't worry, he's not even a fighter. I don't own Street Fighter, King of Fighters, Fatal Fury, and Art of Fighting.

"Tonight was really nice," Marie asked as she and "Ken" walked from the theater to his apartment. The play hadn't been anything fantastic, but she had enjoyed talking with Geese just about themselves. Of course she he was really Geese Howard, but whenever he looked into her red eyes, she felt he'd say everything honestly except for his real name.

"Yeah. I'm glad you liked it," Geese answered, smiling. Amazing how a few months back here could flash by when dating such a wonderful woman. As they reached the outside lobby, Geese stopped and looked at her again, dealing with an internal battle. Should he really tell her? Would it ruin the one relationship in his life not dealing with money or some new martial arts technique? "Marie… I've got something to s-"

Marie stopped him by placing a finger on his mouth, and she smiled. "I already know, Geese." She immediately replaced her finger with her own mouth, and kissed him warmly. When she finally broke it, Geese had blushed. "I knew from the very beginning. But as long as I've known you, you've been a complete gentleman. _That's_ why I felt I should wait until you were ready."

Geese was stunned. If his façade had failed against Marie… who else could have figured it out? Master Tung had figured it out... but he couldn't think of anyone else that would've been able to figure it out...

"Did you tell… anyone?" Geese asked. Marie shook her head, still smiling.

"No. I love you Geese, and I might not know how far this will go, but you will never be hurt because of me." She kissed him again, this time lightly, then walked off home.

* * *

"Leopold!" Chizuru said cheerfully as the former priest-turned-Kagura Corp. executive as he walked back into the village for New Year's Eve. Although he was not an official member of the family, he had often visited, and Chizuru noticed Maki smile a bit more whenever he came by.

Goenitz had maintained his physical shape and also his skill with his Serpent God powers over the months of rest, even though there was still no sign of the last Orochi or any of the other serpent gods. Although he still made a religious-based comment now or then, he was not a priest anymore. A budding relationship with Maki was proof of that.

"Hello, Chizuru," Goenitz said as he looked at the young girl, once again in her leather biker getup. She sure did like racing, even though technically it was illegal for someone so young to even hold a license. Whatever the case, it wasn't really the case. "Is Maki around?"

Chizuru smiled, "Sure is. Just dealing with some business over the phone. Kinda ironic how such a successful company's headquarters is located in a forest of all things…"

"Whatever," Goenitz said as he walked past her. No sooner had he passed her, however, did she see another person coming into the clearing. Goenitz practically jumped when he heard the name.

"Geese!"

Leopold turned around, seeing the man he had to thank for all of this standing there in a stylish suit.

"How ya doing, Quetz?" Geese said as he walked up to him, calling him by his Serpent God title.

* * *

"So where are Vice and Mature?" Geese asked as he and Goenitz sat around a table and sipped some tea while Maki was tying up a few loose ends.

"Back to normal lives in school," Goenitz said. "They're lucky they didn't have to write any sort of 'what I did during Summer' essays, however."

"And the Church?"

"Doesn't give a damn about me. So hesitant to act that they'll never lay a finger on me. So what about you? I heard that Bogard is clearing out crime in Southtown in a bloody manner."

Geese sighed. "Just keeping my mouth shut and my fists unclenched over it. I'd prefer not worrying about the Shiranui ninjas trying to kill me at every turn. Besides, he spends his time in fighting rings and in the slums, not in the better side of the town."

"So…" Goenitz continued, "does the great Geese Howard have some grand plan for Southtown in the near future?"

Geese shook his head. "Nah… I've opened up a few non-profit organizations under the pseudonym 'Ken Masters', but that's about it. Congratulations… you've been able to sate the greed of an American bastard." Both of the men shared a hearty laugh for a few moments before Geese continued. "Besides… I'm thinking maybe of a simpler scheme. One with a house… and a family…"

Goenitz was quiet when he heard Geese saying this, almost wide-eyed. "Who's the lady?" he asked. This was not the Geese he had known.

"Marie Heinlein," Geese answered. "She knew who I was from the day we met… but she didn't tell anyone."

"Blackmail?"

"Only works when the person whose information you have knows about it," Geese pointed out. "She didn't tell me until two days ago."

"Put some faith into her then," came Maki's voice as she walked into the room. "The Heinleins might not be the richest family in the world-"

"I'm aware of that," Geese stated plainly.

"But they _are_ a good family. The younger son, Kain, has trouble taking things seriously, however." Maki tossed some papers on the table in front of Geese. "I've also taken the liberty of looking into your financial records, and I must say you are doing an exceptional job of not breaking our deal."

"What can I say?" Geese asked, smiling, "My first two years here, I ordered all illegal activities in my organization to stop. I know how to run a business without breaking laws, even _if_ it's far less profitable."

"So why are you back here?" Maki asked, wondering if there was any purpose why.

"Felt I should visit, that's all," Geese answered happily.

* * *

"Yes… excuse me. How can I help you?" asked a woman as a young man in a red windbreaker and baseball hat walked into the office's foyer.

"You sure can," Terry answered. "Tell me… how much money would it cost to buy this company."

The woman laughed… but immediately stopped when she realized whom she was talking to. "I'm sorry, but where would you get the-"

"Money?" Terry finished. He opened up a duffel bag he had conveniently brought and poured the contents on the desk.

It was full of bundles $100,000 dollar bills… which was merely a drop in the bucket to Terry due to his profits of selling bodies on the black market.

The woman looked down at the stack and picked up her phone again. "Sir… a Mr. Bogard is here to see you about doing business."

Terry waited around until the elevator doors opened. The CEO of the company just looked once at the amount of money on the secretary's desk and almost fainted. After regaining his breath, he helped Terry put the money back in the bag and then rode with Terry up to his office.

"So you have intent to invest in our company, Mr. Bogard?"

Terry smiled. "No. I want to own it. And if the public finds out about this transaction… well… you know about my reputation."

A few short hours later, Terry Bogard walked out of the building in a well-designed red business suit. _One down…_ he thought. Southtown would pay for letting Geese Howard go…

Just four more years…

* * *

"And a very merry Christmas," Geese said as he and Marie clinked champagne glasses together at the Heinlein family mansion. It was two years later, Bogard's actions had yet to come to light to the entirety of Southtown. Being the respectable Ken Masters, who really didn't exist, Geese was able to rebuild a corporation of decency while still having time to visit both Tung and Goenitz.

Billy had quickly proven himself as a stick fighter rather than a hakkyokusieken fighter,but his talent improved constantly. Lilly actually had been chosen to be the head of Tung's Hakkyokusieken in the event of his death due to her amazing growth in the fighting style. Although it was clear Geese was stronger and more skilled than the girl in the art, she had shown great interest in the style of fighting and had even impressed Geese himself. When the time came, Geese, as heir of Hakkyokusieken, was to show her what he himself had learned so she could assume the mantle and continue teaching others.

But for the moment, Geese was just thinking about Marie. Kain was spending Christmas with his best friend Grant and Marie's parents were out, leaving Geese alone to watch _It's a Wonderful Life_ late at night with her. After realizing the movie seemed to be the longest one in the world, the two had decided to just go into her room and sleep together. Which they did… after some physical intimacy…

When Geese awoke the next day, Marie was still sleeping, having wrapped her arms around his chest and snuggling warmly there. He knew that if this kind of relationship kept up, it was likely they would soon have a child and be married. But it didn't matter to Geese. A simple scheme was sometimes the best.

* * *

It was a bright day in 1992 as Geese walked home, still unknown to Terry Bogard's actions to control the city. He opened the door, seeing Marie sitting there, a pregnant belly clearly in view. But something was wrong.

"Geese… there's something going on," she motioned towards the television. Geese took a look and was shocked.

He turned up the volume and couldn't believe what he was hearing. "After several years of operating business from the shadows…" the off-screen reporter stated, "Terry Bogard has declared a resurgence in the survival of the fittest in Southtown!"

The screen flicked over to a press conference where a 22-year-old Terry Bogard, dressed in a business suit, was standing. "I am planning on returning the King of Fighters tournament to this city," Terry said, "And I expect the greatest fighters here to enter it. If I am to replace Geese Howard as ruler of Southtown, I must accept any possible challenge. One word of warning: this will not be a tournament for the faint of heart, and those that enter may not return alive!"

Geese was awestruck more than Marie… but it was time to do something about this. He just needed to get back into the swing of things…

Marie put her hand on his and spoke up. "Geese," she said quietly but sternly, "Promise me our child will not grow up in a city ruled by that man."

Geese clenched his fist. "Rock Howard won't. I promise you that."

* * *

Terry smiled as he reviewed the current tournament roster line-up for the tournament. It seemed that the Southtown police were hesitant to make a move to stop this tournament, and he still had his means of keeping Mary away…

The Sakazakis, however, would not be so easily dealt with. But if he beat them… that would prove his superiority. He'd have to be sure to put them in there.

The stage was set… he'd enter the tournament himself, in a special "privilege" bracket, where whoever won there would instantly move to the final match. That was one of the benefits of hosting a tournament like this.

Terry then picked up a phone and dialed a number, hoping his brother would answer. Eventually a female voice came through.

"Yes?" asked the woman. Terry paused for a moment, hearing deep and fast breathing in the background.

"Uh… yes, Mai. Is Andy there?" Terry asked.

"Oh! Sorry Terry! He's right here!"

The voice changed over to Andy's, and it was clear he was out of breath. "Sorry about that, Terry," the younger Bogard said, "Just training for that tournament of yours in a… special way with Mai…"

"Good man," Terry joked. "I expect you to take the first flight to Southtown available. I'd prefer if you didn't bring Mai with you, at least this time."

"Why not?" Andy asked.

"I'd prefer not having any distractions for you while you're here. This is our chance to make Southtown suffer for its apathy when Dad died… I want this town to forget all about how Geese Howard was."

"When you put it that way… I guess I'll have to…" Andy sighed. "See you soon."

* * *

_Whew!_ Geese mentally sighed as he waited around the Japanese airport. _What a workout!_ Coming out to Japan again to get a workout against Serpent-God powered Goenitz had been the perfect idea to make sure he was at the top of his game. The plan was simple: Geese, Master Tung, and Billy would enter the tournament and fight their way up to the top.

Of course, they all had their various reasons for doing it. Master Tung did it because it was the right thing to do, Billy was doing it to help ensure his sister's safety (and the safety of all the washing machines in all of Southtown, Billy was crazy like that), and Geese was doing it for Marie…

A sudden explosion of cheers shook Geese out of his introspective thoughts as he noticed that a fight was being conducted outside. Still putting faith in nobody knew who he really was, Geese stepped outside.

The fight was almost over, and a black-haired Muay Thai kickboxer wearing boxer shorts was on the ground. Standing over him was a white-garbed man with long blonde hair, smiling.

"And that's for saying you're the strongest in Japan. Shiranui ninjitsu and Koppo-ken certainly proved _you_ wrong." The man moved towards his defeated enemy, fists clenched.

_Shiranui_! The word clawed into Geese's mind as he found himself calling out. The ninja turned towards him. "You've won the fight. There's nothing to gain from beating him into a further pulp!" He just wished he was still wearing his Hakama outfit…

"Businessman, you're in no position to talk to me like that, unless you want to get beat yourself."

Geese was in trouble now. He couldn't back down… but it would only lead to trouble… Wait a second… what the Hell was he saying! He'd been living in the shadows for the past twelve years, it was time to emerge and reclaim _his_ city!

"Don't call me businessman!" Geese shouted as he tossed off his jacket and dropped into a fighting stance. "My name is Geese Howard!"

The ninja's expression changed instantly as gasps and murmurs were heard in the crowd. Geese Howard? Was this really true?

_Geese…_ thought Andy Bogard… _He's alive... THE BASTARD THAT KILLED MY FATHER IS ALIVE!_ Rage made his entire world as Andy charged and struck as fast as he could.

It was over before he knew it, and Andy realized how stupid he had been. Geese had just stepped to the side and kicked him hard in the chest… but not hard enough or in a position to kill him in. Andy fell to the ground, defeated as Geese walked over to the kickboxer and helped him up.

"You should really watch that lip of yours," Geese said as he walked away, "It'll get you in trouble. And next time, I might not be there."

"No problem. Thanks anyways," the man said as he ran up to Geese's side. "The name's Joe Higashi!"

"Nice to know," Geese said.

"Hold it! Where are you going?" Jeez… Geese was getting tempted to beat the snot out of this guy now.

"King of Fighters," Geese answered after a moment of thinking to say, 'The closest active volcano.'

"Awesome! Mind if I come with you?"

Geese looked at him for a moment with wide eyes. An extra bit of muscle _could_ help… Of course, Joe would have to avoid screwing this up.

"Fine," Geese sighed.

Meanwhile, Andy was clutching his chest as he watched Geese and Joe walk away. He reached into his outfit and pulled out a cell phone and dialed a number. "Terry? Forget about the Sakazakis… we've got bigger fish to fry. _Much_ bigger fish."

A/N: The King of Fighters… the epic tournament that shaped the lives of so many people. With its return after twelve years of hiatus, the stage is set for grudge matches and deaths! But the question remains… is Geese really good enough to beat Terry Bogard when we all know what happened in the original storyline? Find out in Opening Rounds.

Also, if you're wondering why Mai and Andy would actually be more of an actualcouple, Andy's been more relaxed not worrying about Geese, until now, so he really didn't see a problem with being close to somebody. At least that's my way of looking at it.


	8. Opening Rounds

A/N: I don't own Street Fighter, Fatal Fury, Art of Fighting, or the King of Fighters… but you already know that. And if I did own King of Fighters, 2001 would've been a much better year for the series.

Goenitz sighed as he walked out of a business meeting… maybe rehiring Vice and Mature for full-time secretaries wouldn't be such a bad idea… but a cell phone ring broke him out of focus. "Hello?"

"Hey there, Quetz," came Geese's voice over the phone.

"Hello, Geese," Goenitz said into the phone as he walked out onto the streets of Osaka, "Did you forget something for the tournament?"

"No…" Geese said, an audible sigh following. "You know how I did a damn good job making sure only a handful of people actually knew I was alive?"

"What happened?" Goenitz moaned.

"I ended up announcing myself right in front of Bogard's younger brother, who incidentally is a Shiranui ninjitsu master. Could you and Maki do some sort of damage control?"

Goenitz stopped and thought for a second when a loud and reckless voice pierced his silence.

"DAMMIT, JOE! SIT DOWN AND STOP TRYING TO MAKE TIME WITH THE STEWARDESS! Sorry about that…"

"Friend of yours?" Goenitz asked, grinning.

"Actually more like an extra bit of muscle for the King of Fighters. I ended up saving his skin from Andy and he doesn't seem to have a problem with who I am."

"Hmm… well, Howard, you've definitely stepped in it this time, so you'll just have to deal with it."

"WHAT?"

"Buh-bye now!"

* * *

_Note to self,_ Geese thought as Joe's unconscious form was sprawled out over the distance of three seats on the airplane, _Never trust Serpent Gods ever again…_

The rest of the flight was uneventful, although Geese personally expected to see at least a hundred ninjas swarm down on him at the first opportune moment, yet nothing really happened as he dragged Joe off the plane and nodded to Billy, who was waiting for him at the airport.

"So you brought a friend?" the English stick-fighter asked.

Geese shrugged, "Sort of. Ran his mouth a bit too much and inadvertently pissed off Bogard's younger brother, who unfortunately is connected to the Shiranui clan."

"So you're going to be looking over your shoulder from here on out?" Billy asked as he noticed and was immediately appalled by Joe's lack of clothes, save for boxing shorts.

"Guess that's how it'll work out. Worst case, Marie and I will go into protection."

* * *

"Andy!" Mai shouted as her boyfriend staggered into their apartment, clutching his chest in hatred as he almost collapsed. Mai immediately ran to his side and caught him before he fell on the ground, helping him get to the couch before taking off his shirt. A large and very painful looking bruise covered much of his upper chest. "What happened?"

"Geese… Howard…" Andy said through clenched teeth as he squeezed Mai's hand. Mai's expression changed from worried to a quiet rage.

"He's alive?" Andy nodded in agreement. Mai turned away from him and started to walk out the door, stopping to turn around and kiss him. "I'll tell Grandfather, and then I'll be right back." Andy smiled before she picked up a phone and handed it to him. "If you need me, call."

Andy waited until Mai was out of the room to dial Terry's phone number. The phone rang twice before Terry picked up.

"Any new information?" Andy asked.

"Plenty. That loser you fought before Geese came was some Muay Thai champion named Joe Higashi. He has another rival, someone named 'Hwa Jai' who I decided to invite to the tournament. The offer is simple: he beats Joe and saves me the hassle, and I don't kill him."

"What about Kyokugen? Takuma or any of the others could be a threat," Andy said. "You're just having ten fighters, including yourself, into this tournament."

"Takuma alone is a danger to me," Terry answered. "But he and his weakling students can wait. Worst case…" he flipped on the television, showing a championship boxing match, "This 'Axel Hawk' is quite the upstart. I might have a use for him, provided he can hold onto his title for about a year."

"So you've actually planned ahead?" Andy asked, only half-serious.

"Of course. When you have a tournament with only nine other entries, you can't defeat _all_ the world's best fighters in one swing."

* * *

"Signed everyone up?" Geese asked Billy as they walked down the street of Southtown's business section, many people looking at the three unusually dressed men casually acting like they belonged there.

Geese was wearing his traditional hakama that had seen him through many battles while Billy had chosen a sleeveless shirt with a Union Jack on it while carrying his staff. Joe was still in his boxers and refused to wear anything else.

"Yeah, and Marie is safe with Lilly." Billy subconsciously then swung his staff back, clocking Joe in the face before he even tried to ask who Lilly was and if she was available.

"Incidentally, why isn't she entering this tournament?" Geese asked, wondering why Billy's sister, easily one of the best Hakkyokusieken fighters Geese had ever seen (except for himself and Jeff of course).

"_You're_ representing the Hakkyokusieken in the tournament, not her. Besides, if everyone just focuses on that fighting style, if someone knows how to beat one of us, they know how to beat all of us!"

"Good point…" Geese remarked as they turned onto another street, seeing a man standing there in an outfit similar to Joe's. "Friend of yours?"

"More like a dirty cheater," Joe answered, completely serious as he stepped in front of Geese and Billy. He cracked his knuckles and iced his stare at Hwa Jai as the tension between them reached an insane level. "Gonna be punch drunk next time? I can help with that!"

Hwi clenched his fists, "Not this time, Higashi. I'll show the world I am the Muay Thai master, not you! But for the moment, I'm just here to confirm to Terry that you're actually here. Until our match." Hwa bowed down in a sarcastic manner before turning and walking away, catching a tornado thrown by Joe in the back and flying down the street.

Geese was starting to think that he had underestimated the depth of Joe's personality.

* * *

"Is the first round about to be aired?" Ryo asked as he and King sat alone in their bar, having hauled out the big-screen TV for just the occasion. Although it was obvious to both of them that there was nobody else to bother them, both the Kyokugen and Muay Thai experts were sitting on opposite sides of the couch, more hesitant to make the first move than out of fear of rejection of the other.

"Yeah," King answered, turning the volume up before taking a sip of her wine and closing her eyes, letting a smile form on her face as she relaxed from the warmth of it, silently wishing it was Ryo wrapping an arm around her…

Only to see it was. They just smiled to each other, then turned their attention back to the screen.

Sometimes small steps were the best way to take a relationship… especially when the first time they had met Ryo had ripped her shirt of and later beaten the snot out of her employer…

* * *

"Ladies and Gentleman!" shouted the female announcer, "After a twelve year long rest, the King of Fighters is back with nine new entries to challenge the mighty Terry Bogard! But who will win this epic contest?" The television image changed to show a picture of each one of them, ending with Terry Bogard himself.

The cameras then showed footage of the announcer again before switching over to the brackets. "We now take you to the scene of our first match, the West Subway, where a student of Master Tung's Hakkyokusieken academy faces off against one of the favorites!"

"You sure Billy will be okay?" Marie asked to Lilly as they both sat down in the dojo, waiting anxiously for Geese's turn to fight.

"Of course!" Lilly answered, smiling, "I mean, he couldn't do a Reppuken to save his life, but he's really good with a staff!"

They then looked back to the screen, waiting for the fight to start.

The crowd was wild outside of the fighting arena as Billy spun his staff a few times to work out pre-fight shakes. He had no idea who he was fighting, nor how good they would be.

Cheers erupted as someone… no… _something_ ran up the subway stairs to the surface, grinning and pumping his fist up into the air in a sign of victory. He looked like an alien in that weird yellow and blue outfit, and that stupid mohawk made the appearance look even dumber.

Billy couldn't resist. "My God! MC Hammer's gone colorblind!"

His opponent just turned to him and dropped into a fighting stance as the camera crews got into position. "First round, Billy Kane vs. Duck King… begin!"

Billy charged straight at Duck, grabbing his stick like a sword and swinging down, catching Duck in the arm as he went flying for a few feet.

"Whoa, man! You fight dirty?" Duck King gripped his bruised arm, trying to come up with a way to get into range for his kicks.

Billy smiled. "Any weapon save for firearms is allowed in this tournament. I'm just using the weapon I trained with." He charged again, jumping in the air and smashing down, slamming his staff this time into both of Duck King's arms. The fighter yelped in pain as the harsh smacking sound was heard, but managed to push back, knocking Billy off him.

But Billy wasn't done just yet, and swung his red staff this time at Duck King's shins, knocking him on the rump. One more quality smack to the head knocked Duck King unconscious.

Billy walked away as the referee declared him the winner, meeting back up with Geese, Joe, and Tung. Billy smiled and looked Joe straight in the eye. "Beat that."

"Oh, I will," Joe said, grinning just the same.

* * *

The battle on the beach was impressive as both the boxer and wrestler matched each other move-for-move… and neither the mighty Raiden nor Michael Max could break through the other's defenses for more than a moment.

They both knew what Bogard would do if they didn't go all out… what he was planning for Tung alone chilled them to their bones, but they didn't show it.

Raiden made his move first; jumping back with a speed that belied his massive bulk and spewing a yellow mist at Michael. The black boxer countered with a spinning tornado that spun the spittle away from him and right back at Raiden. The boxer then made his move, striking Raiden right in the gut as hard as he could. The masked man went down before a second punch was needed.

"Winner! Michael Max!"

* * *

Joe cracked his knuckles as he limbered up for his fight against Hwa, ready to finally show the loser up. It would be a tough battle, matching the wills of the Muay Thai masters as each knew it would.

Joe looked over to the side, where Billy was watching. Tung and Geese had their matches in a few moments… but it was time to show them he wasn't going to be deadweight against Terry. Joe noticed that Hwa had just finished drinking from an unlabeled bottle and throwing it away. Hwa, like usual, was drinking to boost his fighting strength, but Joe knew he could beat this loser.

The fight started, and both fighters struck fast with their legs, firing off like rockets. Both attacks hit their targets' rib cages, but it was obvious Hwa had taken the more serious injury. Joe went on the offensive then, swinging his fists at Hwa at point blank range with blinding speed, battering his rival's body.

Hwa somehow managed to get through the worst of the flurry and immediately ducked down and then launched himself up, body seeming to catch on fire. Joe bent his upper body back, waiting until Hwa's flames gave out to return the favor, catching Hwa with his own Tiger Knee cleanly in the jaw. The Thailand resident fell back to the ground in a heap as Joe stood, victorious, and grinning as he walked back to Billy.

"He hit you once," the English fighter said, smiling.

Joe moved to whap him upside the head but the stick-fighter beat him to the punch, literally.

* * *

_Pretty nice restaurant…_ Geese thought as he looked around, _Might have to take Marie here sometime after this…_

"So you're the great Ken Masters," said a Portuguese-accented voice from the man in front of him. Like Geese, he was wearing baggy pants, but white with green streaks on them and his chest was bare. His black hair had also been made into a ponytail.

"And you're Richard Meyer," Geese answered. "You likely know why I'm here."

"Yes. The Pao Pao Café _is_ well known for its food… and I'm also the best Capoeira fighter in Southtown. So…" Richard cracked his neck, "Shall we?"

"Naturally," Geese answered. He charged Richard, swinging back for a decent punch, but somehow… _missed!_ Suddenly Richard was _above_ him, holding onto the rafters of his bar and kicking Geese right in the head with enough force to knock that Hakkyokusieken master back!

_This is ridiculous!_ Geese thought as he jumped back, _I'm losing to some bartender? I've gone toe-to-toe with Goenitz, for God's sake!_ Richard dropped back to the ground, waiting for another charge. Okay… Reppukens were ground waves, so those wouldn't work… and he couldn't just charge in… any of his signature moves were out of the question, since the Sakazakis would recognize them instantly if he tried the Buzz-Saw Slash, Deadly Rave, or Raging Storm attacks…

But Richard gave him the opening he needed, pinwheeling towards Geese in an attempt to kick the living daylights out of his enemy. Geese jumped to the side, flinging his right leg up and catching Richard under the elbow. The Brazilian man fell to the ground, groaning and grasping his arm. It wasn't broken, and Geese didn't care.

Richard was on the ground and Geese moved _fast_, charging fast and kicking him in the upper chest hard enough to send him into one of the walls and leave a few cracks behind.

"Winner… GEESE HOWARD!" announced the referee as, over the city, countless citizens watching the fights gasped.

The truth was out as Geese turned and looked at the announcer… who was likely working for Terry.

Great…

* * *

_Terry…_ Tung Fu Rue thought as he let out a deep breath, relaxing and focusing for the fight when another voice announced itself behind Tung.

"Why'd you stay quiet, Tung?" asked Takuma Sakazaki as Tung turned around and saw his fellow martial arts master. "You knew Geese was alive… and you never even told me?"

Tung sighed. "I know what Geese did before… kidnapping Yuri…"

"Then why?" Takuma asked, clenching his fists. He didn't expect Tung to just shrug.

"He's not a do-gooder like you or me, Takuma, but he _will_ do the right thing when the things he value are on the line. I'm not saying you should forgive him… honestly I never did. But for the moment, he's far stronger than I am and also the best hope to defeat Terry if I fail." He turned and began walking away, leaving the Kyokugenryu master alone with his thoughts.

_Very well then, Tung. Geese will earn amnesty from the Kyokugen Karate school… until Terry is gone. _Takuma then closed his eyes and slowly walked away, personally hoping Tung's trust was not ill placed.

* * *

_Time to die, Tung…_ Terry thought as he affixed his baseball hat with the words "Fatal Fury" on his head, fastening his gloves and walking out onto the fighting ring outside of the refurbished Geese Tower know just called the Tower. The old man simply hopped onto the fighting arena and readied to battle.

"You could've been a great man," Tung said quietly. "I feel guilty about this."

"You should!" Terry growled. "Allying yourself with my father's killer!"

"Jeff tried to kill Geese first," Tung answered. "Now shall we?"

"Fine, old man," Terry answered. He charged, ready to end his fight as he normally would: the breaking of the Xiphoid Process, yet Tung managed to jump away. Terry's fist slammed into the ground as Tung shot back, kicking Terry in the face. Terry grinned as he wiped the small traces of blood away. "Good. You actually have some bite. But you're facing the Lone Wolf… and I'm hungry!" He charged again, pretending to swing his fist down for a punch and immediately stopping as soon as Tung jumped back. When the scrappy green old man came back at him, Terry was ready and kicked him just as hard back in the face.

Tung went flying, yet he was still on his feet when he landed. He wasn't after Terry sent his own round of Reppukens, known as "Power Geysers" at Tung. His enemy did his best to dodge, but Terry was on him again, spinning in the air and landing a harsh kick to the skull. Tung bent with the strike and punched back, but Terry grabbed hold of his fists and threw the old man into the air.

"Dodge this!" Terry shouted as he crouched down and then flew up leg-first. He corkscrewed into Tung's chest until he heard what he wanted to hear: the cracking of Tung's entire ribcage and its collapse inward, impaling each of his vital organs.

When Terry landed, he smiled and kicked the lifeless body away from him before turning to the television screen, tossing of his hat, smiling, and giving a thumb's up before yelling out in a triumphant voice "_Okay_!"

A/N: With Tung's death, the battle becomes personal for Geese and Billy. But first the two fighters must get past Joe and Michael Max, two skilled fighters that oddly both know the secrets to the Tornado Upper. And when Terry sets his sights on those that failed to defeat Geese, Billy, and Joe, and Ryo and Robert save the day and hold of the bloodthirsty Terry in Windmasters.

P.S. Yikes! I just found out that Lilly Kane's hair is blonde and not blue! Grrg! Stupid Fatal Fury movie… throwing off my assumptions!


	9. Windmasters

A/N: There are two one-syllable words I blame for my lack of updates: ACT and SAT. Thankfully, I'm done with them. So anyways… I don't own Art of Fighting, Fatal Fury, Street Fighter, or King of Fighters. And we finally get to see Lilly Kane and the Sakazakis kick ass! Oh… and I screwed up anatomy… the part on the sternum is the _Xiphoid_ process, not Zygomatic process.

Throughout the city, people were shocked at the brutality of the publicized event of Tung Fu Rue's brutal murder. Yet Terry Bogard simply grabbed up his hat, dusted it off, and walked away, smiling as he passed Takuma Sakazaki.

"He was past his prime," Terry remarked as he walked past the Kyokugenryu master. "What did you expect?"

Takuma clenched his fists as he was tempted to plant them in Terry's face… but he stood still. The reputation of the Kyokugenryu school would be ruined… since the cameras were still rolling; a smart move by Terry to protect himself as he walked away.

* * *

Geese, Billy, and Lilly were stunned speechless by the death of their master, or former master in Geese's case. This was the man that had saw them as diamonds in the rough when they were just young teenagers that had shown some skill in fighting, or none in Lilly's case.

And now he was dead… killed in an inhumane manner, even for Terry Bogard's standards. This was personal now more than ever.

_Terry Bogard is going to die…_ Lilly thought as she heard the Hakkyokusieken door slam open.

"Marie!" came a the voice of a young man as Marie and Lilly, along with the other students turned to see a blonde haired man and another one with white hair come in. "Marie… have you been watching the tournament?"

Marie nodded. "Yes, Kain… it's horrible what happened to Geese's master…"

"I'm not talking about that!" Kain R. Heinlein shouted back before the last of Marie's words sank in. "…you… you _knew_ that this 'Ken Masters' was really Geese?"

Kain's friend spoke up next. "Marie… he's a terrible man and he's just using you to get the family's wealth. Can't you see that?"

Marie slowly stood up and looked both her younger brother and his best friend straight in their eyes. "Four years. Four years we've lived together as husband and wife. Four years we've lived happily never once thinking about claiming my inheritance. Four years we've lived on only the money that _he_ made… and you're afraid he's going to just use me and leave? Maybe if things were different… but Geese Howard is not the man he was a decade ago and I love him! Grant, Kain… you should know that better than anyone else!"

Although Grant seemed to back down, Kain showed no sign of giving up. He took a step forward, clenching his fist. "Marie! He _is_ going to hurt you!"

Lilly Kane stood up and just stared at the blonde-haired teenager. "Leave."

Marie, Kain, and Grant all turned towards the acting master of the martial arts school. "What?" Kain asked as Lilly stepped in between them.

"I said for you to leave. Geese Howard is not a perfect man, but you're in no position to control what your sister does with her life. I wouldn't try to stop Billy if he started dating somebody that I disapproved of."

"Maybe that's just saying how weak you ar-" Kain never finished, because Lilly planted her fist straight into his jaw.

"Don't talk about my brother like that. Now get out before I decide to show you that Geese Howard isn't the only expert Hakkyokusieken master out there."

Kain and Grant exchanged glances before charging at the younger girl, swinging wildly. But they weren't fighting a young girl that knew nothing about fighting. They were fighting somebody that had impressed Geese Howard with the skill she showed in his own fighting style.

Lilly ducked the punches, wrapped her arms around their stomachs, flipped them upside down, and slammed their heads into the floor. She then turned to Marie, who had a shocked expression on her face.

"They're fine, just unconscious. I just felt you should be going through the least amount of stress as possible fight now."

Marie sighed. "Maybe you're right… Wouldn't want Rock to come into this world on a sour note, would we?"

* * *

The mercenary base was bustling with activity as a young, fourteen year old girl walked through it under guard. Her blue hair was now tied up in the back, and her average female physique masked the power that flowed in her veins.

"We've still gotten nowhere on either the Rugal or Wyler missions!" shouted a man with a red bandana to a number of recruits. "Commander Heidern's been after both of them for years! The Ikari Warriors is not just a mercenary group, it's designed to purge the world of men so that normal people can live normal lives and people like us can go home to those people!" She noticed he was younger than she had first thought, maybe only twenty.

She continued walking until she reached an office door and was allowed in. She noticed that although there were guards all around the base… only a tall and lean man in fatigues was in the room.

"So you're the girl that wants to join." The man said as he leaned over the desk, sizing her up.

"Yes," she answered.

"Do you understand what we do? We kill people."

"To be fair, Commander Heidern, I have killed people before. I don't want to talk about it, but I have."

"Well, Leona…" Heidern stalled, trying to recall her last name.

"It's just Leona," she answered. "No last name."

"No family?"

"I'm trying to join to bring the force that killed my family to justice. That's all." Leona's statement was iron-hard, and her eyes had an intensity in it that Heidern noticed before.

She was like him. They weren't doing this to better the world. They were doing it for revenge. Revenge against the men that had taken away their family.

Heidern asked no other questions. He ordered no background check. He just stretched out a hand and shook hers'.

* * *

Terry sighed as Hwa Jai's body finally collapsed, exhausted from a beating that even Tung had been fortunate to avoid. Rising Tackles, Power Waves, Crack Shoots… they were all too merciful.

One Buster Wolf had shattered every bone in the Muay Thai kickboxer's body.

He growled in frustration at the fact that both Meyer and Duck King had been fortunate enough to find a place to hide. Raiden really wasn't to be a problem, since Michael Max was still there to deal with Billy Kane. But it was only a matter of time before…

"Bogard!" came a pair of voices as Terry turned around in the dark street and saw Robert Garcia and Ryo Sakazaki running up to him.

"Yes?" Terry asked the men older than him by at least a decade… almost as old as Geese for that matter.

"This ends here!" Ryo shouted as he clenched his fists. "Kyokugenryu's been turning a blind eye to you for _far_ too long!"

Terry sighed, knowing this fight would be over in just a bit… but it would be extra practice when the time came to kill Geese.

As the Dragon and Tiger of Kyokugen stared at the Lone Wolf, a single, inaudible word told them all to attack, and they did. Ryo and Robert lunged forward, already springing over a Power Wave and kicking Terry in the face and stomach, respectively. Terry recovered in time to grab their legs and throw them, however, and once again tried to kill them like he had killed Tung.

But fate was against Terry Bogard that night as Ryo and Robert spun in midair, avoiding getting the lethal kick by a hair's breadth and then grabbing Terry's arms. They didn't have to worry about throwing him back into the ground, gravity took care of that. Knowing Terry might lash out while trying to get back up, they both jumped back, waiting for his next move.

Terry grit his teeth as he tried to stand up. Fighting dirty… did they have no dignity? Terry launched himself forward, spinning like a propeller as his leg smashed down against Robert. The Italian man managed to block much of the strike, but while still in air, Terry slammed his hands into the ground, unleashing a Power Geyser attack that hit its target in full. Terry sent two more ground waves to keep Ryo back as he charged at the dazed Robert. Terry pulled back his fist, but suddenly felt he was missing… something.

The Buster Wolf. He had burned off too much of his strength doing it against Hwa, so when Robert got hit by the punch, he just flew back, muttering "Yuri…" before he blacked out.

But Terry still had to worry about Ryo, and the Raging Tiger would not just let Terry get away with these atrocities. The two blonde fighters clashed, each surging through the air with their respective kick attack, and each hit its mark. Terry and Ryo then skirted backwards, catching their breath.

"We're too evenly matched," Terry said as Ryo glared at the American and began gathering Ki into his body.

"I've got more experience, and I've been cleaning this city up before you were even born," Ryo shot back, charging. He hoped the same strategy that Dad had used against Geese in 1980 would work just as well. He kept his hands close to his body, charging forward anyways. He jumped to the side, dodging a Power Geyser and kicked Terry in the face twice. The Wolf kicked back, and the two fighters had their legs locked in a struggle that would only end when one would be broken. They looked at each other with intensity and hatred when a shout knocked them out of it.

"Stop it!" shouted a female voice as both of them turned to see a blonde-haired police officer point a gun at both of them. "Ryo Sakazaki… just back away from Mr. Bogard!"

Terry smiled. Seemed having Mary Ryan in his pocket wasn't as far-fetched as he had thought. "They were attacking me," Terry stated as Ryo back up and helped Robert get to his feet. "I was merely defending myself."

Mary glared at Terry for a moment before acting. "Fine. I'll take them into custody."

Ryo just looked at Robert, and decided the best thing to do for the moment would be to go along.

* * *

Geese checked the clock again. Just another few minutes and the next round of the King of Fighters would start up, with him fighting Joe on the bridge. He was sure he could handle Joe, although probably with some trouble. It was just…

"Tung…" he said quietly as he felt a hand move to his shoulder. He looked up and saw Marie standing beside him with a faint smile. "And _you_ should be somewhere safe. I don't want you or Rock to get hurt."

"Geese, I'll be fine," Marie said, looking him in the eyes. "I just know this is really hard for you… with Terry killing Tung and everything… I know he put a lot of faith in you, and never tried to interfere when…"

Geese took her hand in his own and looked at her before giving her a kiss. "I know."

Without saying anything else, Marie nodded and walked away, neglecting to tell him about Kain. There were more important things to worry about now, like beating Joe and working his way up the ranks.

* * *

Billy was no better off as he held his staff tight in the amusement park. He'd have to beat a pretty good boxer… but the Englishman was confident he could do it. He wasn't fighting for some idealistic world… he was fighting for what meant something to him: the memory of the man that had trained him in stick fighting.

The African American boxer stepped forward, and Billy looked over to see his sister in the crowd, cheering him on. Who'd thought just by looking at her that she could possibly end up becoming the next Hakkyokusieken master? She was another reason he'd keep going.

"Ready?" Billy asked Michael Max as he spun his stick around a few times to warm up.

"Certainly."

The two charged forward, stabbing forward with boxing glove and staff respectively. Billy took a harsh jab to the face as Michael slumped due to the staff hitting him in the gut. Adding a bit more distance between them with his staff, Billy tossed the man away and caught his breath.

But Michael was already changing strategies, sending tornado-like projectiles straight at him. The elder Kane jumped to the side, using his staff like a pole vault as the crowd erupted in applause as he managed to stay one step ahead of the whirlwinds. But Billy still couldn't get into range, even putting his staff into account.

_Let's try this out!_ Billy thought as he charged straight at one of the tornadoes, getting enough momentum to jump over it and then spring up into the air, slamming down with his staff as Michael jumped back to avoid the strike. The boxer blocked a strike to his left and then his right, jumping back before another stab could get him in the stomach again.

* * *

Joe and Geese were locked in a harsh stalemate on the bridge, as neither of them was able to break through the other's defense for more than a few moments at a time. It was obvious they still weren't fighting seriously, just testing the other's skill, and it was just a matter of time until one of them took off and began clobbering the other.

Joe moved first, sending a flurry of lightning fast punches in Geese's direction, advancing with each punch so even if the older man backed up, he'd still have to block them. With the final punch in the sequence, Joe shot forward a bit more than usual, which is just what Geese wanted.

The hakama-suited man ducked under the final move, kicking Joe once in the shins and swinging around and landing another kick to the top of his shoulder. Joe returned the favor by striking at Geese's still-upraised leg. Geese winced as the attack hit harder than he had thought, but at least it knocked him away and freed him up to start chucking Reppukens. Joe returned the favor with his "Hurricane Upper" whirlwind attacks, and it seemed that once again, the two were at a stalemate as each projectile just hit into another one and they both canceled each other out.

Or so Joe thought.

"DOUBLE REPPUKEN!" Geese shouted as he the rate of fire literally doubled, and try as he might, Joe couldn't keep up with the onslaught. Then Geese charged back into the thick of it, striking fast, hard, and mercilessly with the Deadly Rave.

When Joe finally regained consciousness, he found himself lying on the ground, Geese helping him up.

"Thanks for the warm-up," Geese said as he turned and walked away. Now just one more fight before dealing with Terry…

* * *

Mary walked the two Kyokugenryu fighters to the police station in silence, but the more they walked, the more of an internal battle Mary was having.

Hadn't Ryo's father gone along with what Geese had ordered him to do back in the late seventies? Was that any different that her protecting Terry just so he wouldn't kill her grandfather?

Dammit! It was a conflict of morals, and the young police officer knew it. With a reserved sigh, she ordered Ryo and Robert to walk over to her. She took out a key, and removed their handcuffs. "You're free to go," she said. "But there's someone I'd like for you to protect…"

* * *

Billy caught his breath as he tried to work some way out of getting an opening against Michael… some way to override the boxer's range advantage with the tornadoes. He needed something of his own…

WHAM! Billy caught a bone-crushing punch to the jaw and was sent spiraling as the night battle dragged on. What would Tung tell him in this sort of situation?

_If none of your present techniques work to your advantage, make something new._

Well, that might not be it, but…

_Here goes,_ Billy thought as he spun his staff as fast as he could, putting more ferocity into it than he had thought possible. With a battle-crazed yell, flames erupted from his staff that launched themselves at the boxer. Suddenly Michael was on the defensive for the first part of the fight… and Billy would press the advantage.

"Hasai… Hu… JAI!" Billy shouted as his staff slammed down onto Michael's head, knocking the African American out.

"Winner, Billy Kane!" shouted the referee. "And tomorrow… he and Geese Howard will battle for the honor of fighting the tournament host, Terry Bogard!"

Billy sighed. Just two more fights to worry about now…

A/N: After a good night's rest, Billy and Geese are ready to see which one has the better chance of ending Terry's reign of terror. And in the meantime, the Orochi is making its last effort for survival, going after complete control of the only one of its kind that Goenitz didn't defeat in Lone Wolf Strikes Again.

P.S. Opinions on having Lilly actually be something other than Joe's girlfriend would be greatly appreciated.


	10. Lone Wolf Strikes Again

A/N: Alright! Time to see who gets the chance to beat Terry and end the madness he's created… hopefully evil laughs… and also it's also time to _finally_ introduce one of my original characters! But first, some replies to my non-email reviewers.

_Evan Jones_: Thanks for your consistent reviews and the support for Lilly kicking ass, and don't worry. She'll start entering the KoF tournaments once Geese officially retires, but for the moment, she'll be just the acting master of the academy. As for Grant and Kain, I'll expand on their story too.

_Damien Shepard_: Don't worry. Lilly and Joe will still get together, I just wanted to give Lilly a bit more of a purpose than just be a filler character to make Billy hate Joe more, like she was in the original story.

_frid_: You're dead-on with Lilly helping Rock in his training, and I'm planning for her to be in the Maximum Mayhem tournament (the one in Garou: MoTW) and filling in for Terry. And don't worry, as I said before, Kain and Grant's story will be expanded on.

Disclaimer: See back chapters.

* * *

"You okay?" asked a voice as Kain slowly regained consciousness. He found himself lying in a hospital bed as he looked up to see a brown-haired man looked over the sheet. "You're… ah! Kain Heinlein… and your sister must be Marie. I guess yesterday was quite a shock for you, discovering your sister ended up marrying Geese Howard."

"You have no idea," Kain said as he sat up. "Now who are you?"

"Oh, I'm Vincent. Doctor Trevor Vincent."

"Where's Grant? Is he okay?"

"Grant? Oh… you must mean Abel Cameron…" Vincent answered. "He's already been let out."

"What about me?" Kain asked.

Vincent shrugged. "I see no reason why not, you got a clean bill of health."

Kain thanked him and walked out down to the foyer, where Grant was sitting there. "Kain! You okay?"

"I was worried about you, Grant," Kain answered. "Come on, let's get out of here."

* * *

"How are we gonna do this, Grant?" Kain asked as he and his best friend sat in the park. It was late at night, and the news that Geese Howard had just beaten Joe Higashi infuriated Kain all the more. "I mean, if that Lilly person was able to beat us together… and you're supposed to be training in Ankoku karate too… we'd stand no chance against Geese!"

"Guess there's only one choice then," Grant answered as he stood up and helping Kain stand, "We're just gonna have to train!"

"For how long?" Kain asked.

"As long as it's gonna take!"

* * *

"So… got any plans for a summer, Celia?" asked a girl as the two walked out of a dorm onto the street.

"Well…" said the brunette Celia, "I was thinking of maybe doing some secretary work again…"

"That's always like you, Celia… anyways… see you next semester!"

Celia sighed as she tapped her foot impatiently.

"I never knew your real name was 'Celia Vie', although I see where you got 'Vice' from," came a female voice as a girl on a motorcycle came into view.

"Hello Chizuru," Vice said as she smiled. "Here to pick me up?"

* * *

_I'm lucky I'm the only one that Terry doesn't want dead…_ thought the muscular wrestler known as Raiden as he sat on the side of the beach where he had lost to Michael Max. _Since he actually didn't lose to one of the people Terry wanted defeated… he really can't blame me… But it's time to change!_

The Australian grasped his mask in his hands and threw it into the water, the morning sun just coming into view.

"Why did you throw your mask away for no reason?" came a voice behind Raiden. He turned and saw a young boy standing there. "A mask should be a symbol of honor!"

"Kid," Raiden sighed, "You don't know much about wrestling, do you?"

"Yes I do! I wanna be a great wrestler some day, training in the way of Lucha Libre!"

"Lucha Libre?" Raiden asked. Oh yeah… those Mexican wrestlers treat their masks as symbols of honor...

"Yeah! And I'm gonna get big and strong and be known as the Griffon Mask!" (A/N: Tizoc's name outside of America)

"Kid," Raiden said, "Getting big and bulky is not how a wrestler should be. They have to stay relatively slim and able to move is extremely important. The bigger any part of your body is, the easier a target it is."

"Really?"

Raiden looked down at him, smiling. "Yeah."

* * *

"So things were fairly quiet?" Billy asked as he talked to his sister during breakfast at the Hakkyokusieken academy. "No Kyokugen nuts trying to track down Geese or anything?"

"Nope," Lilly said, "Just Marie's brother and friend. They weren't too much of a problem."

"So how's Joe?" Billy asked.

"Right… here…" said the Japanese man as he staggered in. "Ow… jeez! Geese hits like a tank! Oh, and thanks again for letting me stay here."

"Of course!" Lilly said smiling as her brother groaned in frustration. "Of course, it would be preferable if you'd walk around in something more than just the boxer shorts."

"Please," Billy added.

A knock at the door knocked them all out of focus. Lilly walked over and opened it up. Billy and Joe exchanged glances of various forms at each other when Lilly came back with Yuri Sakazaki.

"Hello there," Yuri said, momentarily being very serious. "As you know, we know you've been harboring Geese…" she took a breath before continuing, "Howard. Now, despite my own personal dislike of the man, my brother and Robert had been asked to protect a man. This man, for some reason or another, wishes to pass on a few fighting techniques to Geese and…" she handed Lilly a piece of paper with an address.

"Any reason?" Billy asked. Yuri shook her head.

"Well, if that's the case, I'd best be going," Yuri said before walking away. Before she reached to door, Billy called out to her.

"Yuri… understand we know about what Geese did to you before, using you as a hostage to make your dad do what he wanted. And know that I'd never protect him if he ever did anything like that again!"

Yuri paused and smiled before walking out.

* * *

Terry Bogard grinned as he looked at the semifinal round that was about to begin. Geese and Billy were both very good fighters, and the ability that Billy had discovered to generate flames from his staff might be enough of a threat.

But enough introspective thinking… his view on top of a building was prime to watch the two students of the late Tung Fu Rue fight.

* * *

"No mercy," Geese said as he stared down at Billy in the very area that only yesterday Terry had killed Geese's former teacher. There was nobody else there except for the two.

"I'd never forgive you if you did," Billy answered back, tips of his staff erupting into fire. "Ready?"

"Definitely."

"Time to rock and roll!" Billy yelled out as he pole-vaulted at Geese, flames whipping up in the air. Geese quickly rolled to the side, kicking at Billy's side, but the Englishman spun his staff behind him, blocking the strike. It bent as the leg plowed into the red stick, but it held, knocking Geese back as Billy charged again, swinging his weapon like a propeller of ultimate death.

"Spin Flare!" Billy shouted as the _entire_ staff caught on fire and he advanced again, springing up in the air.

Perfect.

Geese gathered his energy up and focused it into his hands and just as Billy struck, he slammed them down onto the ground. Massive waves of purple energy erupted from the arena floor, discharging wind around him. The Raging Storm did just as Geese had expected, blowing out Billy's fire and also landing the first significant hit of the fight.

"Oh…" Billy muttered as he hopped away, clutching his bruised arm. "Thought only Lilly knew how to do that!"

"Who do you think _invented _the move?" Geese taunted as he cracked his neck. "Now if you'd excuse me, it's time we wrap this up!"

Geese charged, hands close to his body as Billy lashed out with his staff, stabbing with it. Geese dodged the burning tip, caught Billy with his hands, and then threw him up in the air. Without even looking back at the falling Billy, Geese shot off a small blast from his hand in the weapon-user's direction. "Easy enough."

"Oh yeah?" came Billy's voice. Geese turned, seeing that Billy had actually used his _staff_ to break his fall and take the Ressatsu bolt. He launched himself forward and caught Geese in the stomach with his staff before spinning it around again. This time, Billy slammed it onto the ground spun like a wheel, catching Geese twice before the Hakkyokusieken master caught on.

WHAM!

Billy realized almost immediately he had stopped spinning, and worse yet, Geese had grasped his legs in one of his hands. "Let's try this again!" Geese shouted as he kicked away Billy's staff and threw Billy away, once again charging up the bolt. This time, he _would_ be sure it hit its mark. Billy went flying, bracing himself for the Ressatsu he knew was about to hit.

And hit it did, and it hit hard. But as Billy slowly got to his feet, Geese was amazed. Not too many people, managed to get up after that kind of abuse. Well, except for Goenitz, who laughed it off half the time, but Serpent Gods didn't count.

But as Geese prepared to take launch his next offensive, Billy grinned and raised up his hand.

"No thanks, Geese. I'm in no shape to continue fighting, and if I somehow managed to win, I'd be too exhausted to fight Terry."

Geese looked at him for a moment and then nodded. He'd be fighting Terry right after this, and he needed to save all the strength he possibly could. "Sounds good." He picked up the staff and walked over to Billy so he could return it and shook his hand. He then turned and walked away to announce to the reporters who had won when out of the shadows, a hand fell on his shoulder.

Geese turned to see Takuma Sakazaki looking at him with a look of pure hatred.

"Finish off Terry, and then we'll deal with what you did," the Kyokugenryu master said forcefully.

"No promises," Geese answered back as he walked away.

"One more thing," Takuma added. "Before you fight Bogard, a Southtown detective has asked that you would visit her grandfather."

"Billy already told me," Geese answered as he walked away. "I'll take a look into it next."

Next target: Terry Bogard.

* * *

"So Geese is alive," said the now-aged Hanzo Shiranui as he conversed with Mai and Andy.

"Yes, and he'll be fighting my brother next," Andy answered. "I'm worried Terry might not be able to beat him."

"He will," Hanzo answered. "Terry is the spitting image of Jeff, at least in terms of fighting. Nothing will effect him in battle, not fear or anger or joy. The Hungry Wolf will rip him to shreds, and the Howard legacy will finally end."

"Grandfather, what about the others?" Mai asked. "They say Lilly Kane and her older brother are serious threats, as is the Kyokugenryu academy. And Ryo and Robert's actions against Terry prove they aren't on our side."

Hanzo smiled. "We dispose of them next year. Terry has already discussed making the King of Fighters a worldwide tournament, and he's planning on including some of the best fighters to put in the roster. Kim Kaphwan is South Korea's martial arts hero… and I'm sure your teacher Mai, Jubei Yamada, wouldn't mind fighting another time. And then there's Wolfgang Krauser…"

* * *

The bar "La Illusion" was unlighted as Geese walked into it, but he saw that sitting there were the various King of Fighters entrants that had lost to either Billy, Geese, or Joe, save for Hwa Jai. There was also an old man and two blonde-haired women. Geese recognized one of them as the female Muay Thai fighter "King", who had once served as a bouncer for him. Her look was rather icy.

The other must have been that Blue Mary woman Billy had mentioned. At her side was an old man that Geese figured must have been the Kobojutsu master he had been tempted to train under. In another life, he might have learned what he could've before killing him, but much of the eighties in Japan sorta killed that idea.

"Just learn what the old man has to teach you and get out of here, Geese," King stated. Geese offered no response to that, he just stared at the man as he stood up.

"As I've watched you fight, Geese," he stared, "I've noticed one flaw. You have no technique to protect yourself with if you encounter a move that you cannot successfully block. Now… if Billy or Joe or any of the others would've been the one facing Terry, I would've shown them without a second thought… but…"

"You have my word I'll never lay a finger on your granddaughter or anyone around you," Geese said straight to the man's eyes. Worst case, he was sure Billy could do the dirty work for him.

"This move is called the Atami Nage, and I pray I am doing the right thing…"

* * *

Terry breathed in and out very slowly, letting his mind clear. He was going to kill Geese Howard. No, _kill_ was too merciful of a term.

He was going to destroy Geese Howard… every last shred of him. After that, the Shiranui clan would come in and keep Southtown in check, making sure that neither the Sakazakis or Kanes ever gave him trouble.

"Let's finish this, Bogard," came Geese's voice. Terry opened his eyes and saw Geese standing there, on top floor of one of the buildings Terry had bought from his money from selling bodies on the black market.

"Oh…kay…" Terry answered.

* * *

"YAMAZAKI, YOU BASTARD!" shouted the famous Chinese detective Hon-Fu as he trailed the psychotic madman through the Hong Kong streets. He would catch him this time, he _knew _he would.

But then Ryuji grabbed a kid and threw him straight at a car, and Hon-Fu was forced between the right thing to do and the moral thing to do…

Hon-Fu jumped at the kid, grabbing him in mid-air in time before rolling to the ground. "You okay?"

The blonde-haired boy looked up at him and nodded. "Ye…yeah…"

Hon-Fu looked. Dammit, Yamazaki was gone. Well, best to see to the boy now. "What's your name?" On closer inspection, Hon-Fu saw that the boy was clearly not Chinese.

"I… I go by 'Shen Woo'," he answered. Hon-Fu smirked.

"God of War, eh? Well, God of War, you better keep training so if I'm not there you can keep yourself safe."

"Definitely!"

Ryuji Yamazaki, the only one of the Orochi untreated, kept running down the street before turning into an abandoned building and running to the bathroom. He was out of breath, trying to run away from that… _thing_.

I'm still here… 

"NO! GET AWAY FROM ME! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" the madman yelled.

If things had been different maybe you could've resisted me… but the others are gone… 

Ryuji looked into the mirror, seeing the strange serpent staring back at him. "Who… what are you?"

The screams pierced all of Hong Kong as Ryuji Yamazaki's mind was ripped to shreds.

A/N: Geese and Terry begin their battle of attrition, and it seems the are too evenly matched for anyone to ever guess! Can Geese survive the mountain-crushing power of the Buster Wolf and can he avoid his fate of falling off a building in Final Round.


	11. Final Round

A/N: Here it is! The second epic battle of this fanfic! Will Geese suffer the same fate as before and fall to his temporary death? Or will the villainous Terry Bogard take his stead? Plus… my first chapter with Omake! I don't own the King of Fighters, Art of Fighting, or Fatal Fury.

_Evan Jones_: Thanks for your approval of putting cameo roles in. I'm planning on doing it for many of the characters, as you've already seen. If KoF XII comes out in time and I find out about how the guy acts, maybe I'll do one for Ash too.

* * *

Goenitz was pouring a glass of tea when the impulse hit him. Elsewhere in the Kagura village, Vice and Mature suffered similar reactions, as did Leona in Brazil, and Shermie, Yashiro, and Chris in France.

The final Orochi head was awakened.

Maki quickly ran to the former priest's side and caught him before he fell. "Hong Kong," he whispered before blacking out. "He's in Hong Kong."

* * *

"Normally I'd go and deal with him…" Maki said a few moments later, "But we have no idea how strong he is, and with all the others, Goenitz's Serpent God powers were there to lend a hand."

"So what's the plan?" Mature asked. "Want us to investigate?"

Maki nodded. "Yes, but don't get into trouble."

Vice looked over to Mature before adding her two cents. "What about contacting you again?"

"Give us a call if you can. If not, send us some sort of sign if you get into trouble. Sure you can handle it?"

"What's there to lose?" Mature said while grinning.

* * *

Geese and Terry stared at each other with nothing but hatred as the two planned ahead in this battle.

For Terry, he knew Geese was no pushover. He had defeated his opponents in a few quick strikes during the tournament, and Terry would have to go all-out to defeat him.

As for Geese, he knew that Terry had to die. Killing Tung… trying to take over _his_ city… he wouldn't stand for it any more. Besides, if he could give Quetzocoatl some trouble, how hard could Bogard's kid be?

Geese charged, slamming Reppukens against Terry's Power Waves and striking the younger American across the face with a punch, but Terry bent with it and caught Geese with both his legs, knocking him back. Terry immediately shot off another Power Wave before Geese could recover, and then charged at Geese, spinning in the air for the Crack Shoot move.

Geese took the brunt of the Power Wave, but it was time to test out that Atami Nage move as Terry surged down. Geese swung his right arm above his left, hands open. Terry's leg smashed into it, but Geese bent with the attack, grabbing Terry's leg in the process and slamming him headfirst into the ground.

Geese like the Atami Nage.

Terry wasn't down long, however, and quickly shot back up, spinning from the Rising Tackle. Geese jumped back, tossing a pair of Reppukens to end the fight.

Unfortunately, it didn't. Terry kept going up in the air, so all the ground waves did was blast open a window. As soon as Terry landed, he charged forward again, fist catching a yellow flame and knocking Geese down before he had the time to try the Atami Nage again. Before Terry could catch him again, Geese rolled away, thinking.

Terry would have nothing of it, however, and came at him again, this time feinting another Crack Shoot to trick Geese into raising his defenses up high before sweeping Geese low. Terry slammed down again, only to back taken aback as Geese caught the killer punch with his legs and toss Terry away.

"Reppuken!"

"Power Wave!"

The two ground projectiles clashed again, neither side bothering a follow-up attack. Terry's eyes maintained their harsh coldness as Geese's stayed emotional and aggressive, as usual.

Geese quickly closed the distance, unloading with his Deadly Rave as Terry did his best to avoid the strikes, but not without suffering a bit in the process. But that was because his right had was charging up energy for the-

"POWER GEYSER!" Terry shouted as the blast from the ground caught Geese before the final attack of the combo. The older American skidded away as Terry pressed the offensive again, slamming one elbow into Geese's face before smashing his leg into Geese's stomach. Howard jumped back again, and a Burn Knuckle made him keep going, safety glass barely holding against the barrage. Terry finished his own round of abuse dealing with a roundhouse kick to the head.

"Pathetic," he muttered as he walked away. He stopped however, when he heard quiet laughter.

"Heh…" Geese grunted as he stood up, hakama torn in several places. "Goenitz hits harder than that on his worst days."

_Goenitz?_ Terry thought as he clenched his fists and charged again, expressionless mask beginning to crack.

_Atami Nage time!_ Geese thought as he caught the Burn Knuckle right out of the air and then danced around Terry's escape maneuver that left them both standing near the middle of the business building again. Geese took a few steps forward, tricking Terry into firing off another Rising Tackle. Geese jumped up to meet him again, smiling. "HI THERE!" A sharp kick bent Terry's vertical form into a horizontal one as he hit the ground again.

As soon as Terry hit the ground, however, he already fired off another Power Wave, knocking out Geese's legs for a moment and enabling him to get back to his feet. "You killed my father!" Terry shouted as he gave Geese a harsh uppercut to the face. "You hurt my brother!" Another punch to the chest, barely missing the fragile Xiphoid Process. "I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!"

It was the moment Geese had needed, and he caught Terry's attack again as he kneed him in the groin. "_Your father was a sore loser!_" Geese answered back as he dodged a thrust kick. _"Your brother needs to keep his emotions in check!_" He caught the outstretched leg and threw Terry up in the air, blasting him with a Ressatsu bolt. Terry slammed into the shattered glass and it gave, and the only thing keeping Terry alive was an ironclad grip on the floor. But Geese would have nothing of that. _"And this is _MY _city, not yours! If widespread crime returns, it will be _MY _decision!"_ His foot struck Terry's face again and again, breaking more and more bones until Terry finally let go.

* * *

"I can see a body!" Robert called out as he and Ryo looked from the rooftops of a shorter building. "It's Terry's!"

"Then the lesser evil won the day," Takuma answered. "But our challenge still lies ahead…"

"We'll deal with it, father, as a family!" Yuri answered.

Ryo just kept on watching. Something wasn't right here.

* * *

Billy, Joe, and Lilly were all standing at ground zero as Terry's body fell to the Earth. Well… Terry needed to go down, and after that, they'd see what Geese's motives were. No doubt if the Hakkyokusieken master went back to his old ways, together they could beat him.

But like Ryo, Lilly knew something with this situation was wrong.

* * *

"So Terry lost?" Grant asked as Kain shook his head.

"Terry Bogard wouldn't be so foolish as to lose yet. I may not know anything much about fighting, but I know plenty about deception."

* * *

_Father… I'm sorry…_

_You should be, Terry._

_But I tried my best! I gave it my all! I just couldn't beat Geese! Terry! You are turning your back on the Bogard name! Avenge me!_

_Terry's eyes slowly opened. The ground below him was coming fast._

_Avenge me!_

_He poured all the energy his entire body had into his hands._

_Avenge me! _

_The ground was almost on him…_

_**AVENGE ME, TERRY BOGARD!**_

"**_POWER GEYSER!_**" Terry screamed as his left hand hit the pavement, the yellow swell erupting up like a volcano. As his downward momentum reached a halt, his eyes strayed over to that of Lilly Kane, and his look held nothing but the absolute hatred of hell right before he shot back up at Geese. Terry's stare then impaled Geese as he came right back at him, his right hand enflamed with every ounce of strength left in him focused into it. "**_DIE, BASTARD! BUSTER WOLF!_**"

The attack hit home, and Geese flew back, flying through the air and into another building.

Right before he began his own downward fall to the ground.

* * *

The audiences were shocked, and Marie gasped as her she watched it on the television. She fell to her knees, the sight of the man she loved, at a moment of triumph, suddenly turned to a moment of defeat.

Then she felt the pain in her stomach.

_Please… no… not here… not now!_ She thought as one Hakkyokusieken student rushed to her aid.

* * *

"We gotta save him!" Joe shouted as he pulled back his fist for a Hurricane Upper before Lilly stopped him.

"It's no good… the acceleration due to gravity… it'd be too much even for Geese's Raging Storm at full power. Plus, if he stops too fast, the stress would kill him anyways! Terry was lucky the Power Geyser has a bigger blast range and could slow Terry's fall, but Geese can't do that!"

"But Lilly… what about you?" Billy exclaimed. They were running out of time, and their timing would have to be perfect. Billy noticed for a split second that Blue Mary was ordering people away, and she looked at him once before he focused again. "You can do the Raging Storm too… and maybe you could fire it up with something Joe can do! After that, I can deal with saving Geese!" Joe quickly nodded in agreement.

The Hakkyokusieken master nodded. "Okay… but we have to do it… NOW!" She slammed her hands into the ground, ignoring the fact for the moment that the wind was blowing her dress up for Joe's benefit as a red cataclysm of ki shot into the air. But Joe stayed just as serious as Lilly as focused all his energy as well, calling up on the greatest of all Hurricane Uppers: the Screw Upper.

The tornado and red storm mixed into a hurricane of destruction as Billy suddenly jumped into the middle of it, the combined attacks letting him do the mother of all pole vaults to lift him up into the air. It was only fraction of a second before he was next to the almost-grounded Geese, trying to shake him loose.

"GEESE!" He cried out, "WAKE UP!"

Geese's sleepy eyes snapped open in a second as he saw the destructive energy below him. They… had done all this to save him?

But enough introspective thinking… he had to save himself _and_ Billy now! Too bad the Atami Nage didn't work against gravity… But Geese quickly added onto the joint move, grabbing Billy and having the Englishman wrap his arms around his neck and then slamming his own hands out, a blue Raging Storm mixing with the red one and the grey Screw Upper.

Geese still hit the ground fairly hard, and bones were heard breaking, but the American had survived the fall.

With flying colors, no, but he survived.

Unfortunately, Geese smiled once and said "Thanks," before collapsing.

* * *

Trevor was shocked as he watched the news of Geese's miraculous escape from certain death, but was quickly brought back to real life as a screaming woman was helped into the hospital.

It was Marie, and she was not doing well. The stress of seeing her husband almost fall to his death had caused an early labor, and it was likely the child would not survive the birth. Yet Trevor didn't care. He'd do what he could.

For two hours, he helped coach Marie through the contractions when another body was brought in and Marie saw it.

It was Geese, and Marie seemed more determined than ever to successfully give birth to a living, baby Rock more than ever.

* * *

When Geese opened his eyes, he was in a black void. As he tried to call out, something coiled around him.

"Wah?" Geese shouted as the grip tightened.

So… you are the one that is responsible for the Orochi's weakened hold on this world… 

Geese could barely breath, but a single word escaped his lips. "Jormungandr…" The Serpent God of Death… who on Ragnarok would die and bring the end of all life as its lethal blood seeped through the whole world.

_Yes… you are lucky you had people that stood against your fate to die today. _The grip lessened slightly.

"Then why am I here?"

_Exhausting your body of all possible energy can do that._

"Then I'm really dead anyways."

Jormungandr said nothing… and then the constriction around Geese was almost gone. _If I am truly the Serpent God of Death… then don't you think I have a say in when someone dies?_

"You mean…"

_Your wife and friends love you, Geese Howard… go to them.

* * *

_

Things were not looking good, and Vincent was beginning to lose hope that Rock _or_ Marie would survive the birth.

But then… Geese was standing there, holding Marie's hand, offering encouraging words… and it all worked.

Geese laughed as he held his newborn son in his hands, wiping away the tears of joy, not noticing Rock squeeze down on Geese's hand in a manner…

Exactly like Jormungandr's.

* * *

_So I really am the King of Fighters…_ Terry Bogard thought as he smiled, turning on the television in his office, victorious at long last over Geese Howard.

But then the news stories on all the channels… telling of Geese's amazing recovery, and that of his son and wife. Of Mary Ryan persuading Southtown Police to let Geese go for now.

Of Geese Howard promising reporters he would defeat Terry Bogard in the King of Fighters tournament in 1993.

The anger again filled Terry as he slammed his fist into the ground. "I _LOST_!" Terry shouted as he clenched his fists.

Slowly, however, laughter replaced the anger. Maddening laughter as Terry grinned.

"VERY WELL THEN, GEESE HOWARD! HAVE AND ENJOY SOUTHTOWN, BECAUSE YOU HAVE ONE MORE YEAR TO LIVE!" And next time, gravity wouldn't kill Geese… Terry would rip him apart with his bare hands.

Him… Billy Kane, Joe Higashi, and Mary Ryan. They would _all_ die.

Terry slowly calmed down, and gave Andy another call.

"Brother, I'm coming to Japan. Keep the plan on track… but scratch out the Sakazakis. They can wait another year."

* * *

Rugal Bernstein scowled as he looked through the warehouse. Where were all his workers?

"They sorta… lost their heads," came an oily voice as Rugal turned. Standing there was the being that had once been Ryuji Yamazaki, but now consumed by a Serpent God.

"Who are you?" Rugal asked, but before he knew it, Ryuji had slashed him across the face, gouging out his right eye.

"I may have use for you," Ryuji rasped as he placed his hand on Rugal's head, the German man transfixed with horror as a strange energy flowed into him. "Be careful with this energy, lest it kill you."

When Rugal woke up, there were two young women in front of him. "Who… who are you?" he asked, his voice trembling for the first time in his life.

Vice smiled. "We're your new secretaries!"

A/N: Geese's defeat means that he has to train even harder than ever, and also worry about the Kagura family grounds being revealed to the Shiranui clan! Can he prepare himself for his rematch against Terry, let alone stand a chance against the brutal Wolfgang Krauser? Will Billy, Mary, and Joe stand up to the might of Kim Kaphwan, Jubei Yamada, and Mai Shiranui in the King of Fighters '93 tournament? And will Vice and Mature be able to keep their cover in Tournament's Return?

P.S. I decided against my original choice of not having Vice and Mature work for Rugal. It seems more sense they'd find a way to work for him anyways, and it'll also add to the concept that although things may be happening the same, the cause and effect will be different.

Omake time! Sorry, just one this time.

Never Insult the Hakama! 

Geese plummeted the ground, Joe, Lilly, and quickly prepared to make their actions to save their friend when God showed he was a pervert.

A chance gust of wind blew open Geese's hakama as spectators looked up and their eyes exploded from the sight as the billowing robe served as a parachute, slowing his fall.

"Sorry about that," Geese joked before running back up the tower to finish the fight.


	12. Tournament's Return

A/N: Amazing how I can just keep grinding these chapters out… it's unreal! I guess this is what happens when you find a story concept that you yourself love! Well… we're halfway through the "Return to Southtown" arc, and thanks for those of you that reviewed.

_Evan Jones_: thanks for your approval of the Atami Nage counter move. Rock will put his own spin on the move, and the same goes for Lilly. But we'll have to wait another couple of tournaments for Lilly to show her stuff, and Rock won't be coming in until Maximum Mayhem. Until then, enjoy the moments Geese uses it!

Disclaimer: You know the routine.

* * *

Normally Geese would have been fuming over his defeat when all he had needed to do was not underestimate Terry, but not today. Today his son, Rock Howard, was born, and everything else… even his brief skirt with Jormungandr, the Serpent God of Death, seemed… unimportant in comparison.

He just smiled as he held Rock in his hands, noticing the baby also had those red eyes which could be intense, piercing, and gentle all at the same time just like Marie's.

Tung had said once that Geese's selfishness meant he would fight for what he wanted, and for a long time control of Southtown had been number one on that list, only barely beating out Marie… but now…

Maybe Southtown could stand not being in the top three… it'd still be there, just not at the top.

* * *

Billy was lying in his bed at the Hakkyokusieken academy, lost in thought as he looked up at the dark ceiling. Terry essentially had won that fight, and that was a bad thing. But Billy had saved Geese, Rock and Marie were alive, and the Kyokugen students were willing to look the other way for another year… so maybe things had balanced out.

Well… if Terry was out of town-

Billy's focus shifted over to his suddenly ringing phone. He picked it up and asked who was there.

"Just me," came a female voice that Billy assumed must've been Mary's. "Got some more good news. Records show Bogard just bought a one-way ticket to Japan."

"Must be waiting until next year to finish things with Geese," Billy answered. "Anything else?"

"Yeah. I… want to be in the next King of Fighters tournament. With Tung… gone… I thought you might need somebody else on your team. That is… if your sister won't be entering again."

"Nah. She's adamant on not entering any tournaments whatsoever until Geese officially and publicly retires. And it's nice to know somebody new will be fighting with us, but shouldn't you be asking Geese this?"

A sigh came through the receiver. "I felt Geese could worry about talking with the police until _after_ his wife and son are out of the hospital."

"Thanks for that consideration," Billy commended. "I'll bring it up with him as soon as that problem is dealt with."

* * *

Rugal stared at the two young women in front of him as he tried to stand to his feet. "And… why _would_ you be my new secretaries?" he finally asked. For the moment, his horrifying encounter with that madman was out of his head… he'd focus on these two right now.

The one in the red dress answered first, "To make sure you don't do anything stupid with the power now flowing inside of you!"

If anyone else had connected Rugal with doing something stupid, they would've been torn apart by now, but Rugal's look at them only became more confused. "That so?"

Between Vice and Mature, an inaudible and -to Rugal- invisible conversation occurred at rapid speed, each one trying to think of a plausible cover-story on the go. Mature moved next, expression never losing credibility for a possible second. "Yes. Our employer wished to test the power of the Orochi on those not of the bloodlines, and since he will be busy on other business, he wished for us to inspect you instead. Consider yourself the first of many…"

"A leader of many," Vice quickly added.

Rugal's face went through several emotions before he turned away. "I know not of this 'Orochi' and it is certainly plausible that you don't know at all what you're talking about." A green flame erupted from each hand. "But… I've never felt this kind of power before… Before I was a god among men, but now I am a god-slayer among gods."

Vice and Mature both relaxed for the precious seconds before Rugal turned around again. "And understand we're going to need time to report to him… say three months in the summertime?" Vice asked, pushing their luck as far as it could possibly go.

Rugal snorted once before answering. "Fine... but if I discover you aren't completely honest with me… I'll show you the extent of the that power!"

"Believe me," Mature said, "We're not lying when we say our employer wants to keep an eye on you."

"Is he a member of the Ikari Warriors or another mercenary organization?" Rugal asked. Vice and Mature shook their head. "Good…"

* * *

Marie was resting peacefully when something disturbed her in her sleep. Slowly her eyes opened, and she saw Kain standing over her. He placed a finger to his mouth and whispered, "Shhh…" After waiting to see if she made a move, Marie's younger brother continued. "I heard you pulled off a miraculous childbirth today, Marie."

Marie nodded in a nervous manner, worried that her dear brother would do something horrible here. Instead, he just smiled.

"You never told Geese, did you? About the blood that flows in our veins," Kain said as he pulled up a seat and began talking in a way that seemed almost… _casual_ for the subject.

"He kept things from me, I didn't feel guilty doing the same," Marie answered.

Kain's expression morphed into one of irritation, "Marie… he's a terrible man! But…" Kain regained control of himself, "I digress. The point is that… _things_ will happen to young… Rock, is it? Now things will happen to Rock, like most members of our family, and you don't know about all of them."

"Kain, please… don't beat around the bush. You want a bargaining chip against Geese, don't you?" Marie leaned over, and her red eyes drilled craters into Kain's. "I love you dearly, but you will never lay a finger on Rock, or _I will personally rip you limb from limb_." Her tone was that of an older sister that was telling her younger brother not to stay out of her room. "Are we clear?"

Kain's stance had fallen to the defensive as Marie, bed-ridden and still weak from pregnancy, had taken the bite out of Kain in one fierce statement. Kain's mouth formed a small grimace as he couldn't believe what he was saying. "Crystal clear."

* * *

"Terry!" shouted Andy and Mai as the current King of Fighters walked off the plane, easy to spot thanks to his trademark hat and outfit.

He smiled as he saw them. "Hey, Andy. See you're up on your feet."

"Thanks to Mai's special touches," Andy answered while chuckling. "You seem unbothered by the fact that Geese is still alive, though."

"Geese will die next year," Terry answered in the same callousness he said most things, "I'll see to that. What about stacking brackets in our favor for next year?"

"I'm ready, and so is Jubei," Mai answered. "Andy and I would've gone on ahead to discuss things with Krauser, but I haven't seen you in a long time!" She smiled warmly as she handed Terry a newspaper.

Terry took a look at it. He flipped through an article about a man about Geese's age as Andy filled in the rest of the information. "We were also discussing who should see if Kim Kaphwan would want to fight for us. I'm guessing you should, since save for the fact you fight to kill, you're the same. He cleans up Korea, you clean up Southtown."

"Sounds good. And Axel?" Terry asked as he stuffed the newspaper in his pocket.

"I was just about to talk with him," Mai said as she winked. "I'll see you two boys later!" She ran off to her flight back to the United States.

Terry and Andy then exchanged looks as the shook hands. "Geese will die next time!" Andy said as Terry smiled.

"Definitely!"

* * *

The massive Germanic noble known was Wolfgang Krauser relaxed as her returned to his mansion, a perfect day of meeting with other European nobles only made better by the call he had received, claiming a powerful fighter was waiting for him back home. Naturally, Krauser had instructed Lawrence, his bodyguard and servant, to "entertain" this guest until he had returned.

But something was not right when Krauser opened the door. The lights were off, and standing there was a blonde-haired American wearing a white outfit. Lawrence was on the ground, not moving; his sword shattered.

"Your matador was too used to fighting bulls," Andy said in a confident manner. "He just wasn't ready for the sword -and bone- crushing strikes of Koppoken."

"And I doubt you are ready for the brutality of the Earl of Strolheim!" Krauser shouted back as he shed his shining gold armor, showing his body made of nothing but pure muscle. The German charged, managing to dodge Andy as the Shiranui ninja shot up into the air, arms flailing and cutting his surroundings. Krauser moved to grab Andy, but the younger Bogard planted his foot in Krauser's face, knocking the bigger man back and giving Andy the opening to land and then slam both his legs into Krauser's stomach.

"Muscle doesn't do as good a job at cushioning damage as fat does," Andy said as the stronger man backed away, clutching his gut. "Any boxer would know that."

* * *

And at the very least, Axel Hawk knew that as he tried his best to lay a finger on the woman dancing around every one of his strikes. The woman in red's outfit was rather… revealing… and Axel did have to admit it was quite the distraction.

Yet Mai just kept going, rebounding off walls, attacking with her many fans when she could, and testing just what the boxer's limits were.

The fighting ring Mai had confronted him in was state-of-the-art, but barren save for both of them, and Mai liked it this way. She hadn't introduced herself, she wasn't going to offer him anything until she saw what he was capable of.

Which was decent. Axel might not have been able to hit her yet, but Mai's attacks were only able to wear him out very slowly. Against a Shiranui ninja, he was practically helpless… but with the element of surprise, it was probable he could kill somebody.

Eventually Mai got tired of it, bent out of the way of another flurry of punches, and rammed her elbow into Axel's face, her body catching on fire, courtesy of the Super Deadly Ninja Bees technique.

The big lardass went down, and Mai smiled. Now that Axel's ego had been deflated well enough, she could actually have an intelligent conversation with him.

* * *

Kim Kaphwan could not believe he was talking to Terry Bogard… _Terry Bogard!_ The legendary Hungry Wolf who was cleaning up Southtown! The man that was going to help Kim bring Geese Howard to justice! But…

"Understand I am appalled at your brutality, Mr. Bogard," Kim said as the two talked over a buffet. Although Terry might not have seemed cultured, he knew decent amount about Korean cuisine and was paying for this all anyways.

"I know, Mr. Kim," Terry answered, "But I assure you it is for the best. By sacrificing a few, the others become fearful and become hesitant to commit crimes. I will also tell you that outside those I bring to justice in my own way, I have never taken another life."

"What about Tung Fu Rue?" Kim asked.

Terry swore to himself about that, but he had gone over this question time and time again in his head, and knew the answer. "Harboring Geese Howard and not reporting him to me was a mistake, as was joining alongside Geese in an attempt to kill me," Terry answered.

Kim sighed. _I wonder what Jhun Hoon would think about this?_ No matter. His loyalty to Terry would come at a price for the younger man, however. "Very well then, I'll enter your tournament next year, on one condition?"

"Anything," Terry responded.

"You aren't to kill anyone from now to then."

Terry relaxed on the inside. He had been worried it would've been something he might not be able to do. "I give you my word, Kim Kaphwan, I will do no such thing."

* * *

There were two things that Andy was thanking right now as he solidly beat Wolfgang Krauser into a pulp. The first was that since he hadn't been in the King of Fighters tournament, he had been able to use that opportunity to train. The second was that Krauser had just gotten back and hadn't been prepared for an actual fight. So while Krauser by default should've already beaten Andy apart, it was quite the other way around. Plus, Andy needed this to see if he really _could_ beat Geese Howard and prove himself better than Terry.

Krauser's glare became hardened as the German began to think. He hadn't tried _that_ yet, and Andy was pretty far away too. Perfect. The Earl of Strolheim brought his arms back as energy gathered into them. "Kaiser Wave!" Wolfgang shouted as he slammed his hands together, a purple crescent blast flying right at Andy.

If this had been somebody that had wronged Andy, the Bogard knew his head wouldn't have been clear. He knew if he had been fighting Geese, he would've been consumed by the drive to kill the man to get past the attack. But now, here… Andy's mind was clear, and he knew what to do. He jumped at Krauser, arcing his body over the attack foot-first as his body erupted into flames.

The Choreppadan blasted into Wolfgang's body before he could raise his defenses, burning much of his unprotected torso.

Krauser collapsed as Andy stood over him before the winner turned and walked away home.

"If you want a rematch, enter the King of Fighters tournament next year," Andy sneered as he walked out, celebrating on the inside. Some said that Krauser was even stronger than Geese had been… and Andy had smoked him without serious injury.

He had proven himself. He was ready to demolish Geese next year.

* * *

Slowly, the days drifted into weeks and then months. Geese, Billy, Joe, and Mary all kept training while Lilly took notes on how Geese fought, learning to put her own spin on some of Geese's moves. In the meanwhile, Marie regained her strength and young Rock grew and grew. For the first time in recent history, Southtown was relatively crime-free when gangs heard that Ryo and Robert had gone back to their roots when they were teenagers, riding around and beating up punks, a means of training for the Kyokugenryu students as well.

There had still been no confrontation between the Hakkyokusieken and Kyokugen students, both sides deciding to maintain the truce for sake of not letting Terry divide and conquer them. Geese avoided them most of all, preferring to not pick a fight with Takuma Sakazaki, one of the few men that had actually defeated him in battle.

King had seen some promise, somehow, in the breakdancing, "colorblind MC Hammer" as Billy called Duck King, and had actually offered him a partial ownership in her bar. As for Michael Max, he had faded into the land retired boxers and Richard Meyer decided to just stick with running his café.

There were rumors abound that Raiden, now unmasked and calling himself Big Bear, now had a protégé, a young Mexican wrestler who went by Griffon. But they were only heard, not seen.

Four months before the tournament, Geese picked up a ringing phone at nighttime.

"Howard here," Geese stated.

"What? No 'Hey there, Quetz?'" came a familiar voice.

"Goenitz! What are you doing?" It had been a while since the former Orochi-powered priest and he had spoken.

"Bogard decided to up the ante this time, so I felt it would be fair to do the same," Goenitz answered. "Kagura Corp. is taking care of some of the financing and I demanded a slot to fight in."

"Sounds great, Quetz. That means we'll have half the tournament bracket on our side. Any idea who's on the other side?"

"Well, I know there's a Shiranui kunoichi to worry about by the name of Mai… and some others I'm surprised."

"Don't worry, Goenitz. I'll take Terry down this year. He'll pay for trying to control my town!"

A/N: It's tournament time again, and new rivalries are abound! Can Billy's staff hold up against the crushing kicks of Kim Kaphwan? Can Joe stay focused against Mai while Mary has to deal with Mai's perverted master Jubei Yamada? Can Geese run the gauntlet against Krauser and both of the Bogard kids? And will Goenitz suffer the same fate as Tung in Opening Rounds II?

P.S. Yeah. I don't give Krauser enough credit. But seriously, the reason Andy gets his ass handed to him nine times out of ten is just his head isn't focused, so I figured if he actually fought seriously, he'd do a pretty good job.

Omake time!

With Great Power, Comes Giant Hair! (This one is for you, Beni-kun!)

"What?" shouted a blonde-haired Japanese man as he was turned down for the tournament entry. "You gotta let me in! But I'm Benimaru Nikaido, awesome pretty-boy!"

"Unfortunately, Mr. Nikaido," said the tournament registration attendant in Japan, "There are two problems. First, we already have all ten entrants for the King of Fighters '93. And two… we have too many blonde-haired people in this tournament. Now if you had brown hair, maybe I might be able to bump somebody off. But SNK has this hair-brained idea all Americans are blonde-haired, so you're screwed."

Benimaru grumbled in frustration as he walked away. Damn SNK and their stereotypes… well, those and their impossible bosses.

(Next day)

"Wow! A giant radiosphinctopragmomitor!" Benimaru said as he looked at his dad's workplace. 'Take your son to work day' was awesome, especially when your dad worked at a power plant.

But fate had different plans in store for Benimaru, and he leaned a little too closer to the electric machine as a spider slowly descended on him.

But that spider isn't important, because it was just a spider.

Anyways, Benimaru was leaning a bit too close to the giant machine when a stray bolt of electricity fried him. His father, worried, took him back home to recover from the shock before leaving. Beni walked across the floor to his bedroom, and then collapsed.

When Benimaru woke up, he found himself back home and felt something strange in his body. Electricity… lots and lots of electricity.

Channeling this power, Benimaru walked to the bathroom, cackling with glee as his hair stood straight up… only to blast a hole through the ceiling.

Final Fury or Fatal Fight?

LegendarySuperNamek: Hi there! It's me, the author of this awesome piece of alternate-universe fiction, here to point out the similarities between _Final Fight_ and _Fatal Fury_! And here to help me are the respective heroes of the games: Terry Bogard and Cody Travers!

Terry: I still hate you for what you've done with me in this fanfiction.

Cody: Shut up, poser. You're just a rip on me.

LSN: That's pretty much true. Let's look at all the similarities, shall we? Terry and Cody pretty much act the same with their obsessions with fighting.

Terry: Am not!

Cody: You are... and not only that, but Billy and Rolento both fight with sticks. And Geese and Belger were both kicked out of buildings. And J' and Duck King look way too similar for it to be a coincidence.

Terry: But I got a cool ninja helping me out!

Cody: Andy was just a rip-off of Guy. Now I'll admit that Maki was based on Mai...

Guy: But I actually _got_ a wife while Andy and Mai's relationship was just played for humor.

Cody: Go away, loser. You didn't even have the dignity to save your own wife in Final Fight 2.

LSN: Seriously.

Terry: You're one to talk, prison boy!

Cody: I don't have to put up with this! I have an infinite combo! Beat that!

Terry: Damn you, original me!


	13. Opening Rounds II

A/N: I'll have you all know I totally kicked ass on both my SATs and my ACTs, and am totally happy. And sorry for the update time, I just promised myself to revise one of my other fanfics. Now if these damn SNK bosses would die easier, this story would have a happy ending…

But first, a tip of the hat to my reviewers… _Evan Jones, Beni-Kun, Sanity's Eclipse, _and _242-Slash_ and some replies to those I couldn't give Review Replies to.

_Evan Jones_: I'll be bringing up the SNK and Capcom similarities up quite a bit. I'll have a field day with comparing Ryu and Ryo, and thanks for your approval of the Fatal Fury/Final Fight discussion!

_Sanity's Eclipse_: As to Andy beating Krauser, it had to happen. Mai would never in a million years be able to beat Krauser, and Terry was off wooing Kim, so Andy was the only real choice. Besides, who's to say Krauser didn't use that extra year to train his ass off? If that's the case, and I already pointed out Andy usually is fine when he hasn't lost his temper, then I see no reason why Andy couldn't beat up an _unprepared_ Krauser.

Disclaimer: You know the routine. But if I did own SNK, the story would go more along the lines of this. And I'm also going to kill Falcoon for making Lilly fight just like Billy in KoF: Maximum Impact 2. COME UP WITH SOMETHING ORIGINAL, MORONS, LIKE WHAT I DID WITH HER!

* * *

"Joe!" Lilly cheered out as the Muay Thai kickboxer, still wearing nothing but boxer shorts, stepped out of the airplane. They had one month before the King of Fighters '93, and it would be good for the entrants to test their strengths against each other. But Lilly had other reasons for enjoying the fact Joe had arrived, despite Billy's displeasure.

"Nice to see you again, hair job," Billy said. Joe moved to strike, half-expecting Billy to counterattack, but it wasn't the case. He just smiled and jumped out of the way, leaving Lilly and Joe alone for a few moments.

"So I hear you had a few challengers," Lilly said to Joe as they followed after Billy. The kickboxer nodded and answered, saying they weren't too much trouble compared to Geese. "Good to know… but you might just be fighting him again in the King of Fighters tournament. What would you do then?"

"Pray to God," Joe joked before laughing out loud…

…Right before a powerful set of hands clamped down on his shoulders and a stern voice killed all thoughts of humor in Joe by saying, "_God does not give favor to those that fight._" Joe whirled around, seeing the man now in front of him to be a bit older than Geese, dressed in a business suit, and with brown hair, save for the front which seemed to be whiter. The man had a stern look on his face for a split second before taking a more relaxed tone and grinning. "Then again, I'm not a priest anymore, so I really don't have the updated information about that sort of thing. I'm Goenitz," the Serpent God said before shaking Joe's hand.

"So you're that guy Geese mentioned a couple of times?" Joe asked. Goenitz nodded. "The guy Geese said was super strong because he was some sort of reincarnation of a snake?" Again, Goenitz nodded. "The guy that Geese said didn't even know how to punch until he spent half an hour explaining what to do and what not to do?"

At this point, Goenitz just decided to shut the guy up with a whap to the head, with Billy crying out in happiness not too far away.

"YES! I told you, Lilly! It's not just me! The guy runs his mouth like a car!"

* * *

"So where's Maki?" Geese asked as he and Goenitz sat down for a few cups of tea, both men wishing to catch up on old times.

"Back home, keeping an eye on the Orochi seal, teaching Chizuru how to use the Yata Mirror, the usual things," Goenitz said. "She's also been researching something I think you'd find interesting."

"Oh?"

"It's just a concept, right now, but Maki and I are searching to why various Serpent Gods act in the way they do."

"Like why the Orochi is a bloodthirsty creature, yet Jormungandr, who by rights should be the most twisted of all the Serpent Gods considering he can determine whether people live or die, seemed pretty reasonable when I ended up talking with him?" Geese asked.

Goenitz agreed. "It makes no sense. So Maki and I have decided to check on everything, records of cults worshipping those snakes, the Indiana Jones routine. Meanwhile Vice and Mature are looking up on some drug lord who might just have Orochi power. They'll be dropping a line by the end of this tournament, hopefully. And in the meantime I give some B.S. to their college about working and they get credit anyways." Goenitz took a sip of tea and relaxed. "But you… how's Rock doing?"

"Rock's fine," Geese answered, smiling. "First word he ever said was 'Thor'. Don't know what the deal with that was, but he's growing up bit by bit, if a little quicker than most."

"Well then," Goenitz sighed as he stepped out onto a fighting field, "Are you ready?"

"Finally," Geese sighed, "We can behave like educated men and beat each other to death."

The two friends charged, fists implanting themselves in the adversary's gut.

* * *

**Wham!**

"Harder," Terry muttered.

**Wham!**

"Harder," Terry said again.

**WHAM!**

"Horrible," Terry Bogard sighed as he stood up, chiseled body soaked in sweat as his brother stepped away. Terry had peaked, and he was frustrated by it. Andy's bone-breaking punches didn't even cause fractures to his older brother anymore, and the King of Fighters couldn't think of any other means for training. Strength exercises, dexterity improvements, raising reaction and counter speeds… and now durability.

Terry was out of training plans for himself here at with the Shiranui clan.

Andy, nearly as fit as his brother in all those aspects, grunted in agreement. "We've still got three weeks… and there has got to be something we're missing…"

A thought occurred to Terry, and he smiled. "Groups. Fighting groups is the only thing we've skipped, and I'd prefer not having all of Geese's underlings run to his aid like last time."

"So what's the plan?" Andy asked, taking a rough guess at what Terry was planning.

"The Shiranui clan's ten best fighters. All of them coming at us," Terry answered before putting his shirt and hat back on.

"You know Mai's one of them," Andy pointed out, wondering just how brutal his brother would be in this newest exercise.

"Hey, I haven't killed anybody so far," Terry said before looking at Andy and winking.

* * *

Takuma looked at the phone in his hands for a long time; knowing who was on the other end and whether or not he should drag his friend into this situation with Geese and Terry. Finally, he furrowed his brow and picked it up.

"Takuma Sakazaki speaking," the Kyokugenryu master said. "Hello there, Saiysu."

"I have to learn how you do that," laughed the Kusanagi patriarch on the other end.

"It's a trade off, old man. You can't get crimson flames and not lose something in its stead," Takuma answered, smiling. Takuma sobered up, however, and quickly got to the point of Saiyasu's call. "But why are you calling?'

"You're having problems with Bogard and Howard, correct?" Saiysu asked. "You know, I could be in Southtown in a few days.

"And avoid spending quality time with your son, who I believe is just about to finish his _second_ year as a freshman in school?"

"Kyo's fine. Just wants to wait around and graduate with all his friends from kindergarten," Saiysu shot back. "Besides, it'll give him more time to see Yuki."

"Yuki?" Takuma asked.

"Kyo's girlfriend. She's in the same class as Kyo's other friend, that 'Athena' girl. Her last name is Kushinida. Like fate, I guess."

"But seriously," Takuma asserted, "We'll be fine. If anyone causes trouble, we can deal with it."

"Fine. But next year, my son and I enter the King of Fighters. No questions asked."

"If you insist…" Takuma sighed. "See you in a year."

"Or hopefully sooner," Saiysu shot back.

* * *

"Mamma? Where is daddy going?" asked Rock as Marie held his hand and waved Geese away as he and Goenitz boarded a plane to the tournament headquarters in Japan.

"Off to do work with Mr. Goenitz," Marie answered while smiling, "To make sure we're all safe."

"But doesn't daddy do other work too?"

Marie nodded as she helped her son walk back to the car. "This is special work. Like a business meeting of really important people. Unfortunately, some of these men don't like daddy, so he's going to persuade them to like him."

"Oh. Do you think I could be a bu… bu…"

"Businessman?"

"Yeah… like daddy?"

Marie smiled and nodded. "I'm not sure, but we'll see what fate has in store for you."

* * *

Terry Bogard smiled as he went over the brackets for the tournament in a small office. The usual suspects… Geese, Higashi, and Kane… and it seemed that Ryan was also making her stand. That was okay… they'd be disposed of soon enough.

Terry reached over and flipped up cell phone and dialed up Andy's number.

"Andy here."

"Andy," Terry said as he began flipping through the papers on the entrants, "Put Kane against Kaphwan, Mary Ryan against Jubei, Joe Higashi against Mai, Geese against me and…" Terry went dead silent as he read the name for the final entrant: Leopold Goenitz.

"_Goenitz hits harder than that on his worst days."_

"Terry, you still there?" Andy's voice came again.

"Oh, yes. Scratch that. Have Geese fight it out with Krauser. _I'll_ deal with this Leopold Goenitz…"

* * *

"Germany. Why is it everything of importance to me comes from there," Geese groaned. Jet lag was a killer when you had arranged sleeping patterns to get used to Japan, then get sent to a country on the other side of the planet instead.

"Germany's been good to you," Goenitz said to his friend as he checked his first match. "Hmm… I'm going to be here and dealing with Bogard."

Geese looked over to Goenitz for a second and then sighed. "Kick his ass for me then."

"Certainly," Goenitz said before hearing somebody scream out in agony.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST TELL ME TO GO TO ENGLAND IN THE FIRST PLACE?" Billy cried out.

Geese looked over to him and sighed. "Prepped up with arranging sleeping habits in advance?"

"Yeah…" Billy sighed.

Geese snorted once before putting his hand on Billy's shoulder and walking away. "I'll see you at the plane."

Billy sighed as he noticed that a woman with brownish-red hair and wearing a red (and rather revealing, at that) outfit walk to the registration desk next to him and asked who she was fighting in the first round of the tournament. After receiving a piece of paper, Billy watched as she passed him, a dark glare crossing her face for a split second before she walked over to Joe and putting her feminine wiles on overdrive.

"Hi!" Mai said while flaunting her assets to distract Joe. "I guess I'm going to be fighting you first round, so go easy on me!" She smiled once before practically skipping away, leaving Joe and Billy both dumbfounded.

Billy took no chances though and walked right over to Joe and looked him in the eyes. "Were you looking at her breasts?"

"Well they _were_ practically right out in the open and -" Joe started to say before he felt Billy's staff in between his feet.

"Joe," Billy said, "Understand that although I might not be willing to take a bullet for you, I _do_ respect you enough that if my sister wants to date you and get into a relationship with you. Now if you let your hormones run like rabbits and I suddenly find somebody who probably is in league with Terry walking up to you in all her bouncy glory."

"She just got me off-guard, that's all," Joe answered.

Billy nodded and removed his staff from its dangerous position. "Good. Because if you hurt my sister," Billy looked down at the tip of his staff, "I will tell her everything and laugh like a sadistic bastard as she carves you a new one. Clear?"

"Crystal clear," Joe answered.

Billy then smiled. "Good. Enjoy your time back in Japan then!"

* * *

Goenitz closed his eyes and focused as he let out a deep and long breath as he slowly let his complete powers as Quetzocoatl come to the forefront.

He would not let Terry kill him.

"My child, why are you standing against me?" asked a voice as Goenitz turned.

Right there, in the middle of the hallway, was the Orochi.

Goenitz just smiled, picked up a book, and chucked it at the creature's head.

"Ow! Dammit, Leopold!" the Serpent God of Fire cried out as he clutched his head. The illusion immediately dissolved away, revealing Chizuru Kagura, now nineteen years old, and complete in a leather biker's outfit where the Orochi had been. "You just can't take a joke, can you?"

"Your skill with the Mirror of Yata requires practice," Goenitz said before pulling up a chair. "So where's Maki?"

"Down in the lobby talking with Joe and Mary," Chizuru answered. "Geese and Billy are already off to Europe, and the tournament will be starting up in a couple of hours. So you ready?"

Goenitz smiled. "Chizuru, Terry Bogard only beat Geese by twist of luck last year, Geese has gotten stronger, and I'm at least as strong as Geese is. Of course I'm not worried. Now, if you would excuse me," Goenitz said as he stood up and walked past her, "I'd like to change into something a little more… accommodating for my fighting style."

* * *

It was time… and Terry Bogard knew it. The time for revenge… revenge against all those damn people that turned a blind eye when Jeff Bogard had died… all those people who hadn't laid a finger on Geese for a year.

It would be good to be back in his element: blood.

This new tournament would be not televised. All the judges would be Shiranui ninjas. Kim, Krauser, Mai, and Jubei would win their matches, and provided they didn't, Axel and Andy were ready pick up the pieces. Hanzo was waiting back at Southtown to dispatch Kyokugenryu once and for all.

All he had to do was kill with Leopold Goenitz now.

The arena was similar to the one known as the "Howard Area" back in Southtown… the same place he had killed Tung Fu Rue.

And here he came, in a blue and black robe. (_A/N: Yep. He's wearing his outfit from '96. Some things never change._)

"Repent while you still can," Goenitz taunted as he stepped into a fighting stance, ready for battle.

Terry grinned. "I am _so_ going to enjoy this."

_A/N_: The fight is on! Goenitz and the rest of our heroes duke it out, with some losing and others winning! Will Goenitz suffer against Terry's Buster Wolf? Will the Raging Storm overpower Krauser? Find out next chapter: Climb to the Top.


	14. Climb to the Top

A/N: Again, sorry for the update lag concerning last chapter. I was busy trying to get to the Jin twins in Fatal Fury 3, and as a matter of fact, I still am. I hate SNK Boss Syndrome. Anyways…

_Evan Jones_: Yeah. Mai's a dirty floozy and needs to suffer. Unfortunately, she won't get her big blow to the ego until '97. But once she gets there… it'll be fun.

Disclaimer: Ah, what the hell. You guys already know I don't own this…

* * *

_Justice will always win…_ Kim Kaphwan thought as he stood in the trainyard in an isolated area of London, knowing his enemy was none other than the bodyguard of Geese Howard.

Kim didn't like what he was doing. Bogard was too violent, left too little room for rehabilitation, which he had to admit Geese was showing a remarkable job at. But he was here, against a man that fought using a weapon… and he was representing Taekwando, and that was all that mattered.

And here Billy Kane appeared, walking up to him with a red staff in his hands, a quiet thud being heard as both Kim and Billy looked up to see a black-garbed Shiranui ninja landing on the top of an abandoned train.

"You two know the rules," the ninja said, "now fight!"

Billy and Kim wasted no time, charging immediately.

Terry skidded away from Goenitz as the older man retracted his leg. No doubt about it: Goenitz was just as good as Geese implied.

And it infuriated Terry like none other. What's more, Goenitz appeared to not have the vast repertoire of projectile attacks and otherwise Terry had expected. No… all Goenitz's fighting style, at the moment, consisted of basic hand-to-hand strikes… which still were fast and hard enough that Terry couldn't beat Goenitz down.

Terry shot into the air, his fist being enveloped in a blue aura as he came down, the Power Dunk almost on Goenitz when…

"Right here," Goenitz taunted again, bowing in sarcastic manner as a tornado appeared out of nowhere, knocking Terry up in the air and throwing him off balance. As Terry had an uncontrollable fall to the ground, Goenitz kicked him right in the head, and Terry went spiraling away, landing countless feet away.

"So that's your trump?" Terry grunted as he got to his feet after a moment. "Not bad."

"Glad to know I'm up to your standards," Goenitz mocked as he charged again, spinning on the balls of his feet to dodge Terry as he blazed past, courtesy of a Crack Shoot. Goenitz immediately flailed his leg out and catching Terry in his stomach and then slamming his fist into Terry's back.

_Kill him… kill him…_

The thought suddenly echoed in Goenitz's mind, distracting him long enough for Terry to grab him and slam him into the ground. The blonde-haired fighter immediately sprang back, though, when Goenitz tried to kick him down. Goenitz spun with the move after it missed, anyways, just to use the momentum to get back on his feet.

_Shove it, Orochi. _Goenitz thought as he sidestepped a Power Geyser and again fired up a tornado to knock Terry around. _I'm not your slave anymore._

_We're not the Orochi…_ said the voice again.

_**We're?** _Goenitz repeated, the shock of the statement giving Terry the opportunity to launch a Buster Wolf straight at Goenitz, which connected the brutal ferocity.

"Easier than I thought," Terry scoffed as the dust settled, only to see Goenitz was still standing. Injured, yes… but likely only as drained as Terry himself was.

"You were saying?" Goenitz said as he charged, throwing himself back at the last possible second to avoid a Rising Tackle, and then immediately tackling Terry and striking him across the face numerous times. Terry wasn't down long, however, and ducked his head to the side, giving him the precious seconds needed to get his thoughts in order, shove his legs together, and kick Goenitz off.

Terry rocketed after him again, opting to save the energy he had left for one more Buster Wolf for a better time, and instead used a basic Burn Knuckle, expecting to smash his fist into Goenitz's back, break it, and walk away killing two of Geese's mentors, or at least knock him away again.

But it didn't work. Somehow… no… it was impossible! Yet Goenitz somehow managed to bend in the very air (courtesy of a gust of wind Terry paid no notice to), and Terry again rocketed right by him. Goenitz immediately grabbed onto Terry's arm, buried his feet into Terry's back, and knocked Terry face-first into the ground.

_I don't know what you are,_ Goenitz thought furiously as he leapt away, letting Terry get to his feet before making his next move, _But I will not bow down to your subjection!_

_Come on Goenitz… all of us here know what you really want…_ The internally struggling fighter ducked under one of Terry's kicks and immediately shot upward, punching into the inside of Terry's leg. _To just have Maki and forget about all this… to give up on this idea that "mankind is part of nature" and bring the Orochi back… why do you think the Orochi endowed Quetzocoatl with its power?_

_I will not walk down that path again!_ Terry managed to punch Goenitz in the face immediately after catching the older man in the gut, but Goenitz spun with the strike, swinging his arm up and swatting Terry away with the palm of his hand. _I reject you and your belief of genocide!_ _Now get out of my mind, whatever the hell you are!

* * *

_

"And so it begins…" the possessed Yamazaki muttered as he sat in an office building. "Will the others be bound by the Momentum of Wills or break free? It matters not though. They either sacrifice their minds… or their bodies… And either way _I_ win."

* * *

"I must admit you are an excellent fighter," Kim remarked as both he and Billy caught their breaths. Neither Billy's flames nor Kim's devastating kicks had broken through the other's defense, and both were at least respecting the other's fighting ethics.

"Thanks," Billy answered back as he pole-vaulted towards Kim, foot first. Kim immediately flung himself away from the Englishman, jumping back again when Billy's staff caught on fire and a wheel of flame shot straight at him.

Kim hopped back again, but immediately came roaring back, arcing his body into an axe-kick attack that cleaved the wheel in half. Billy came charging at him, staff spinning so fast, Kim wasn't sure his arms could withstand the stress of blocking the strike.

But he didn't need to, Kim just kicked as hard as he could into the axis of the staff, and it shattered instantaneously.

Without his weapon of choice, Billy immediately found himself on the receiving end of Kim's brutal footwork, and the coup-de-gra was a series of kicks to the midsection and face which sent Billy into the side of a train.

Kim nodded as he walked away. "Justice always wins."

"Just make sure," Billy muttered as he got to his feet, "You keep in mind what justice is, Kim."

* * *

Terry had noticed something very odd in Goenitz's fighting style ever since whatever distraction the older man had was dealt with.

He seemed weaker, not by an obscene degree, and the retarded rates in which Goenitz attacked and defended were still fairly decent. And the fact that Leopold was now completely in the game helped compensate for that.

Another Crack Shoot was blocked just in time by Goenitz, but the Kagura Corp. executive hadn't expected for Terry's _other_ leg to lash out, catching him in the Xiphoid Process Terry was so famous for breaking.

Goenitz backed up a few steps, but not before throwing Terry right into the path of another tornado, wincing slightly as he felt his chest. Good… nothing broken _yet_.

But Terry managed to get to his feet, and the King of Fighters wasn't just going to lose to somebody that was getting a bit weaker with every injury. All he'd need to do is lure Goenitz close…

Unfortunately, Goenitz stayed put in a fighting stance. "Right here," Goenitz taunted again, smiling as Terry jumped right at him for fear a tornado would appear under the American's feet. Instead, the tornado made itself manifest right in front of Terry, and Goenitz charged, grabbing Terry in a chokehold and slamming him face-first into the ground, squeezing the life out of the baseball cap-wearing villain.

"This ends here," Goenitz muttered as his grip tightened…

But through the grimace he wore, Terry smiled. _It certainly does, old man!_ Terry slammed his hand into the ground next to Goenitz as a Power Geyser ripped into Goenitz, knocking him high into the air and giving Terry the opportunity to get to his feet. _Knew I saved this for a reason_, Terry thought as Goenitz fell to the ground. He'd have to wait until the last second to do this… he wouldn't have the strength to do it again. Now! He charged at Goenitz and immediately yelled out those famous words…

"BUSTER WOLF!"

The blow hit home, and Goenitz screamed in agony as he went flying away, the raw release of energy having caused the fighting arena to covered in smoke. _Got him…_ Terry thought as he panted and saw Andy smile and nod. "Oh… okay!" Terry said as he tossed his hat onto the ground. It was over… Goenitz was dead.

"Goenitz!" shouted someone as Terry looked over to the sidelines, seeing a Japanese woman with short black/brown hair standing there with a shocked look on her face and wearing a Shinto outfit.

"He's dead, woman!" Terry spat at her. "That's what happens to people that defend Geese Howard. Now if you'll excuse me…" Terry turned around, "I'll just get my hat and leave you to mourn over what's left of his dead body."

But the hat wasn't there… that red hat that Jeff, his dad, the man that had trained him to exact revenge against Geese Howard… he had thrown it right there… and it was gone.

"Excuse me," came a familiar voice.

_NO!_

"You dropped this." Standing in front of him, battered and unable to fight… but clearly alive and not going to die any time soon… was Leopold Goenitz, holding the hat emblazoned with the words "Fatal Fury".

Terry scowled at Goenitz, snatched out and grabbed the hat, and walked away with Andy. _At the very least_… Terry thought as his calm composure once again formed, _I'm back at the top. And Geese Howard is a dead man… well as soon as he fights his way up the brackets…_

Goenitz stared at Maki with a small grin on his face as the Mirror of Yata user just ran over to him and hugged him.

"What happened?" Maki asked, still holding Goenitz for… personal reasons.

"I don't know," Goenitz said as he returned her hug, "I could've beaten Terry…"

"Then why not?" Maki asked. It was not an accusing tone, but still an assertive one.

"There was this… voice… telling me to take up the banner again and revive the Orochi. It felt different than the last one, though."

"Oh?"

"Beforehand, it felt like it was the Orochi _itself_ commanding me to do those things… like kill you."

"How could I forget?" Maki slowly drew away from Goenitz and they looked around. Nobody was around. "Tell me on the way back to the apartment."

"Sure," Goenitz responded as they slowly walked together, holding hands, "But this time… it felt like… _people_ were telling me to do it. I eventually just told them off and they vanished… and that's when my powers started to diminish. I still feel I have all of it, but one thing's for sure… if I had gone out sealing the Orochi's servants now, I suspect I might run into a lot of trouble."

"And you figured rather than risk killing yourself by trying to beat Terry, you let him win so you could report this and we could investigate?"

"Exactly," Goenitz answered.

"Smart choice."

* * *

The aged, but still powerful Hanzo Shiranui looked from a vantage building top through a pair of binoculars down to the other side of a section in Southtown. There he was… nearing fifty years of age and still possibly the strongest man on the planet… Takuma Sakazaki. Well… not for long according to the plan, but fate had other plans in store for Mai's grandfather that day.

"I hear that some of you Shiranui ninjas can kill a man in one hit," came a strange voice as Hanzo looked over.

The man looked like the Valedictorian from Clown College… wearing a purple outfit and top hat, painting his face white, and a strange eyeliner design under one of his eyes.

"That's true," Hanzo answered, "Now leave now and forget what you've seen or I'll kill you."

The man chuckled. "I'm not worried about that… because I'm going to kill _you_. You see, old man…" the stranger dropped into the most bizarre fighting style Hanzo had ever seen, "You might be able to kill with one hit… but I can kill with one touch."

"Well then…" Hanzo said while rolling his eyes, doubting what this person was talking about, "If you want so badly to die… just wait one moment."

"Oh no," said the man, smiling and shaking his head, "My orders are to dispose of you. Right here and right now."

Hanzo smiled. "If you insist…"

Hanzo immediately appeared in front of White, elbowing him in the gut. The man slid back several feet, but unfazed. He immediately looked up and smiled.

"When you touch me, Hanzo, I touch you. You lose," said the man.

Hanzo's eyes went wide as he felt something horrible inside of himself, stirring… _swelling_…

There was the sound like that of a balloon bursting, and blood coated the man and the top of the building.

* * *

The man flipped open a cell phone and wiped the blood off his face.

"Yes?"

"White here. Hanzo has been disposed of. What of his original target?" The man asked.

"Leave them alone, White. We're trying to steer the events along, not directly control them."

"Understood."

* * *

"Sorry I lost," Billy sighed as he and Geese sat in the plane which would soon touch down in Germany.

"It could be worse," Geese, who was shockingly calm about the whole thing, "You're still alive, you can makea betterstaff, Goenitz is alright, and above everything else…" Geese smiled in a way of pure evil, "I get to kill Terry. What's there to be upset about?"

"Boss… when you get that look…" Billy let out a slight laugh as Geese shared in it. All he had to do was deal with Krauser… and that shouldn't be too much trouble.

"So how much do you really know about this Wolfgang guy?" Billy asked, wincing slightly as he had brushed up against one of his bruised body parts.

"Well… we're allegedly half-brothers for one," Geese said nonchalantly, "Although that concept is borrowed off nothing but circumstantial evidence and personally, neither Krauser nor I believe it to be fact. As to who's stronger… I am, obviously."

"Any reason why?" Billy asked.

"Easy. I'm the guy that held control of Southtown and got away with it. You never hear anything about the city of Burgurshmittendan falling to the Krauser Connection, do you?"

"Point taken," Billy answered.

* * *

"And since Terry's up to something," Ryo Sakazaki explained as he talked with King on the phone all the way from Japan and once again, Robert was covering the phone payment without his knowledge. "I felt I should be over here. How are things back home?"

"Well… considering how much business I've gotten since Duck King became a co-manager, I'm tempted to scour the city and form a hall of freaks. And you?"

"Just keeping an eye on things. I'll see you when I get back."

"…Ryo?"

"Yeah?"

"Take care."

"Sure thing, King." Ryo answered as he hung up the phone.

A/N: The situation looks bleak with both Goenitz and Billy out of the picture, but hope still remains as Geese Howard begins his ascent to win the right to once again battle his nemesis! Not only that, but Mary is determined to pull her weight against a perverted old Jubei and to show that her grapples and throws and take down those of Judo any day while Joe has to deal with the shapely (but much-loathed) Mai Shiranui in Geese Strikes Back!

Omake time!

The Misadventures of Benimaru Part 1 -or- How the Hell Benimaru Knows So Many People

_Hmmm…_ thought the now electrified Benimaru as he finished patching up the hole in the wall in his bathroom. _This could turn out to be a real advantage in fighting… and with the ladies too…_

There was only one problem: where to start.

So naturally, Benimaru walked over to the globe, gave it a spin, closed his eyes, and thrusted his finger down onto it in hopes of stopping on an ideal place to start.

"OW!"

Needless to say, Benimaru had spun the globe a bit too fast and as a result of trying to stop a globe spinning at 60 RPMs, burnt off the first layer of skin on his middle index finger.

_Okay… new plan_, Benimaru thought as he sucked his finger to relieve the pain. _Internet…_

(Several days later)

_Jeez… this sucks!_ Thought a young Duo Lon as he nursed his injured arm. Long (_A/N:_ _Ron's non-engrish name. Seriously, why would a Chinese guy's name be _Ron) hit like a monster… and now he was bed-ridden and the Internet was the only friend for the young Hizoku ninja.

And unfortunately, he just happened to "Google" the word "Blondie" -which was his favorite comic- and clicked on the wrong icon.

On the screen in front of him was a bizarre blonde-haired man wearing a black sleeveless top, with the words below it saying 'Don't you wish you were me?' and an "Enter" button below it.

Duo Lon clicked it, dreading what would be on the other side.


	15. Geese Strikes Back!

A/N: Sorry about the lack of updates. Just trying to get through revising one of my Darkstalkers stories and also getting through the King of Fighters storyline… still gotta do Real Boat, Garou, and the NESTS saga. Oh, and off-topic… the Orochi is a joke as a boss. I have more trouble with Real Bout Duck King than I had with that bastard.

Disclaimer: The usual. Still don't own this.

_Darth Riven: _Yes… yes… it _is_ an awesome fanfic.

_Evan Jones_: Thanks for you never-ending support, man. I'll always do a good job on this!

* * *

Mai was speechless as she hung up the phone… one of Hanzo's assistants in Southtown having broke the news to her. He was dead… her grandfather was dead…

"Mai…" Andy said as he looked down at her, placing a hand on her shoulder, "I'm sorry this happened…"

Mai just turned to Andy and buried her head in an embrace, breaking down and crying from the sorrow. "I don't think…" she said through choked sobs muffled further by Andy's outfit, "I can go through with this… I don't think I'd be in any shape to defeat Higashi…" She continued crying as Andy pulled away from her and kneeled down to eye level with her.

"Then I'll take care of it," the younger Bogard said as he wiped the tears from Mai's face and kissed her once on the forehead as a symbol of support. He turned and walked away as Mai sat down…

And smiled.

Never since Lady MacBeth had there been a woman that would manipulate the man that loved her so much.

* * *

Maki followed Goenitz as the mysteriously weakened Serpent God walked up to his apartment door and opened it. The room was bare save for a bed and desk, the latter of which had a computer, printer, and various mythology books strewn about on it.

"Anything new?" asked Maki as Goenitz quickly checked his mail, noticing his expression change for a moment as he brought up a pair of pictures, one of which had Rugal Bernstein on it, the other sporting Vice and Mature with two other secretaries labeled as "Ana" and "Hermione".

"Printing it out now," Goenitz answered, quickly flipping through Vice and Mature's individual preliminary reports, handing them off to Maki, who didn't move for a second. "What?"

"Your hand, Goenitz," Maki answered as she opened his palm and showed it to him.

On it was the image of a feathered serpent, likely a rendition of the Aztec's beloved Quetzocoatl, forming a circle by eating its tail.

"Ouroboros symbol," Goenitz explained, "I don't know how it got there… but it's a symbol for purity and self-regulation…"

_Self regulation…_ Maki thought as a concept dawned on her. _Could it be possible Leopold's lack of power, the voices, and this Ouroboros symbol are connected?_ She immediately brought it up to Goenitz, who shrugged.

"I don't know. It might be smart to contact Leona and see if she had gone through a similar thing then."

"I'll get right on it then," Maki answered as she ran out the door.

* * *

Many thought that Joe Higashi's cocky grin and butt-waving antics during battle were brought on by equally bizarre, i.e. _stupid_, antics performed while he was warming up, but nothing of the sort was happening now as Joe sat in a locker room, breathing slowly with eyes closed.

It would be a lie to say that Shiranui woman appeared attractive to him, but it would as much of a lie to say Joe would sacrifice what he hoped to have with Lilly for some perverted action or two here in Japan with a member of a group that wanted Geese dead. Lilly did not have the… bouncy assets… that Mai had, but was that what had attracted Joe to Lilly? No! What made Joe fantasize about being with Lilly was her sweet smile and sincerity, and also the fact she was not an over-the-top female fighter that deliberately put on a show for male viewers unlike a certain red-garbed ninja her was about to fight.

Lilly had _dignity_, and that one word shoved all concepts of Mai Shiranui being anything except an enemy that had to be defeated out of his head for good.

Joe's fists were clenched, he stood up, and opened his eyes, ready for battle…

Only to see five Shiranui ninjas, Andy Bogard leading them, surrounding him.

"We never did finish our last fight," Andy said right before the ninjas charged at Joe.

* * *

_Where's Joe?_ Mary thought as she looked around. _He's got only five minutes to get here before he's disqualified._

Mai, on the other had, was acting as oblivious to this fact as possible as Jubei Yamada sat back, eyeing both female ninja and police officer, seizing up Mary and determining how to fight against her next.

Little did they all know that somebody else was watching from the shadows… a man who realized immediately what was going on and ran off.

* * *

"Not much better than last time," Andy remarked as he looked at Joe, who was trying to catch his breath. The other four ninjas were on the ground, unconscious, as Andy would've been if he hadn't reacted in time to dodge Joe's makeshift "Raging Storm" technique that was essentially just a Screw Upper which surrounded him. Of course, as soon as the attack had subsided, Andy had slammed Joe into one of the lockers and thrown him around, badly injuring the Muay Thai fighter early in the brawl.

"Try me," Joe panted as he stood straight, arranging himself in his fighting stance.

Andy immediately shot forward like a shadow, elbow ready to break Joe's larynx when the black-haired fighter spun forward in a way not unsimilar to Andy's brother's Crack Shoot, the refined Tiger Kick catching Andy in the head and knocking him away. "I stand corrected," Andy grunted as he stood up, the row of lockers behind him nearly bent in half from the force of the impact. "You're better…" He charged again, "But…" Andy jumped to the side and dodged Joe's attack, grabbing him from behind and grabbing Joe's head, "So am I. Any last words?"

"Yeah!" came another voice behind Andy as the ninja turned to see another blonde-haired man standing there in the gi of a Kyokugenryu student, "ZANRETSUKEN!"

Andy had no time to react as Ryo Sakazaki battered his face and back with rapid-fire punches, ending it all in one brutal uppercut that sent Andy's body rocketing into the ceiling, head first.

Joe just stood there dumbfounded before he realized he had a match to get to, and little time to do it in. Ryo just motioned to the door and looked around for his quarry, grinning as he brought his legs together and taunted to the unseen Andy "Ora Ora!" egging him to "Come on, Come on" and fight.

Yet Andy Bogard knew when he was outgunned, and that blow from Joe was hurting more and more than ever, and so the Shiranui ninja just vanished into the shadows, vowing revenge.

* * *

Joe was running as fast as he could as he could through the tunnel… and –THERE! Right there! Just a few more seconds… that's all he needed to get to the arena in time!

He was there… almost there…

"JUST WAIT!" Joe screamed as he triumphantly stepped onto the arena floor. "Sorry, but I'm not too late, am I?"

The ninja serving as referee looked down at his watch and then back up at Joe. "By three minutes."

"SHIT!" Joe shouted, "Come on… you're not just going to boot my out for being a little late, especially when HER BOYFRIEND decided to beat the crap out of me?"

"Rules are rules. So sorry."

Joe felt his anger boil before he felt somebody's hand on his shoulder. "Relax. I'm already here," stated Mary, "So let me beat old dustbones and then I'll take out the floozy."

Joe sighed, but slowly unclenched his fists and stepped aside, looking at Mai with pure, antagonizing hatred.

"You won't get away with this."

Mai just smiled and stepped aside to let Jubei take her spot, knowing her teacher would beat Mary. "Whatever you say."

* * *

Geese and Billy were as silent as the grave as they stepped into the dark castle of Wolfgang Krauser, the only light coming from the stained glass windows above.

"Geese," came a voice as both fighter and bodyguard spun around to see Krauser standing there, armor shed, an X-shaped scar adorning both his forehead and chest, the latter from the beating Krauser had suffered from Andy.

"Wolfgang," Geese answered back, looking over to the weaponless Billy. "Keep your distance. This could get ugly."

"No problem boss," Billy answered, giving both Geese and Krauser plenty of space, eyes catching the shadow of movement for a split-second. Unarmed, unfortunately, Billy quickly looked around for a makeshift staff to use in case of emergency.

"Terry's after you, you do know that," Krauser scoffed as he and Geese dropped into fighting stances.

"Bogards have the overwhelming desire to kill me for some reason," Geese shot back, "I really don't understand it myself. Now enough talk; I have to beat you to a pulp to get to Terry."

"You won't get past me," Krauser shouted as he charged, shin guards connecting into Geese's side and sending the smaller man flying away into a wall. Krauser foolishly ran after Geese, launching a kick Geese braced himself to suffer against…

Only to block it, grab the foot, and smash Wolfgang face-first into the wall.

"And the Atami Nage strikes again!" Geese mocked as he leapt away, burning spheres thrown by Krauser barely missing him. Geese waited until the fourth shot at him, then countered it with a Double Reppuken, the first attack negating the projectile and the second hitting into Krauser and knocking him into the wall again.

Krauser seemed barely phased, however, jumping over the next Reppuken and rebounding off the wall, tackling Geese and bashing heads together before throwing Geese into a stained glass window as easily as a cyclone would whip around a stick.

"Shippuken!" Geese shouted as the air-projectile reversed his trajectory and barely missed the window. Geese landed gracefully and then spun to face Krauser. "Willing to sacrifice your works of art for victory, Krauser? For shame."

"No," Krauser responded, "I'm sacrificing them to exact my revenge against Andy Bogard."

"_ANDY?_" Geese laughed out, "You lost to the _weaker_ of the two? I beat him in one move!" He relaxed, things might be easier than he had thought…

Or so he thought before a graceful kick by Krauser caught him on the side of the head. But then again…

Krauser felt Geese grab at one of his legs and return the favor from below, tossing Krauser above him and then blasting the German on his way down with a Ressatsu bolt.

"There's one thing about you I've always wondered about," Geese said as Krauser struggled to his feet. "Why wear all that armor only to take it off while fighting?"

Krauser opened his mouth to speak, but the sound of something swishing through the air cut him off as he turned…

And Wolfgang Krauser caught a Spanish sword straight through the skull, causing death through impaling the brain.

"I was worried Krauser wouldn't be able to beat you," came a Spanish voice as out of the shadows stepped…

Lawrence Blood in the garb of a Shiranui ninja.

"And I see Bogard had the perfect little scheme set up," Geese answered back, still shocked that the man that was possibly his half-brother had been killed by his bodyguard. "So how long were you on Terry's payroll?"

Lawrence smiled, "Not long. Only about a year. Krauser's humiliating defeat by Andy Bogard proved to me that the Earls of Strolheim were weak, and the Blood family's vow of loyalty applied to the strong. Honor was at stake, and I clearly saw that the Shiranui clan was the only choice."

"So you decided to be one of the various Shiranui ninjas to take a shot at me, no?" Geese answered as Lawrence readied a massive broadsword. "To bad you forgot one thing."

"_Your_ bodyguard, wherever he is?" Lawrence laughed. "He has no weapon, and you can't Atami Nage your way out of lethal lacerations!"

A massive thunking was heard as Lawrence went down from a serious concussion, standing behind him was Billy Kane, holding onto a massive candelabra.

"No weapon, eh?" Billy laughed, "Thank Krauser's interior decorator that wasn't the case!"

Geese smiled. Billy Kane was a good man, good brother…

And _damn_ good with any pole weapon to boot.

* * *

"Boy am I lucky to get the blonde with the sports-bra," Jubei said while grinning, wishing real life was an anime so he could have a nosebleed. He reached down into one of the two pouches on his waist, the one on the left, and munched on a cookie before closing it up and getting onto the arena

"Shove it," Mary shot back, "I'm going to beat your ass apart and show you the superiority of…" Mary grinned, "Well you'll just see what I can do."

Joe took a seat and leaned back, praying Mary would make it to the second round like Geese would as the two grapplers charged.

Unfortunately, Mary found a cookie thrown into her face. Although the object itself wasn't harmful, it gave Jubei the moment he needed to get behind Mary, grab her, and kick out her knees.

_Great… now I've some damn pervert on me…_ Mary thought right before she felt Jubei's hands move up to one of her most private spots. T_HAT DAMN PERVERT! I'M GONNA KILL HIM!_ Mary slammed her head back and into Jubei's, reversing the hold, smacking him in the gut near his two bags of cookies, and then kicking him away. 

As Jubei skidded away, he grinned as Mary felt the strength in her legs slowly give out.

"Wha?" Mary cried out as she fell down to one leg as Jubei laughed out, taking out a cookie from his right-hand pouch and tossing it straight at Mary'' head.

"Shiranui recipe," Jubei explained, "Short-term knock-out toxin. You lose." He grinned and took out another cookie from his left pouch and taking a large bite out. Instantly, Jubei's jovial expression vanished as he practically fell down to the ground. _When the cop had struck me in the gut… she switched the bags… and that means…_

"Short term toxin?" came Mary's voice as he looked up in horror, seeing the restored woman stand above him, "Boy, am _I_ lucky!" Mary gave a short hop into the air, slamming her feet onto the sides of Jubei's head before spinning in air and throwing him into the stands right next to where an awestruck Joe sat.

Jubei struggled to stand up, coughing up a bit of blood. "You… haven't won… y-"

"Yeah she has," Joe said, driving his heel in between Jubei's legs and smiling shortly thereafter at the crippled Judo fighter.

* * *

_Ryan vs. Shiranui and Kaphwan vs. Howard,_ Terry thought as he sat in his auditorium. _Unfortunately, Ryo is here… and that means I'll have to sacrifice my other dagger, Axel, to delay him instead of the original plan._

But there was still the mystery of Hanzo's murderer… and it baffled Terry Bogard more than anything else.

His cell phone rang once before Terry picked it up.

"Bogard here."

"Blood," came the Spanish voice. "We have a problem."

"What now?" Terry asked, a trace of irritation seamlessly flowing into his voice.

"Howard… broke my wrists…"

"I see… and how are you calling me?"

"Another Shiranui ninja is here… made the call."

"Good. Put them on." After a moment, another voice came on. Terry gave a command in Japanese to which the ninja responded to.

Blood's voice next. Distant… probably being asked while not holding the phone. "Well? _Como esta?_" (What did he say?)

Terry hung up before the screams of failure even began.

He did _not_ tolerate failure from initiates.

A/N: Kim Kaphwan, Mai Shiranui, Geese Howard, and Blue Mary Ryan. Four fighters battling for their own reasons, four fighters who will become the two to see who earns the right to defeat Terry Bogard. Yet sinister forces are working elsewhere, concerning White's employer and the possessed Yamazaki, and even the vague echoes of an organization known as… Addis.

P.S. Yeah. I've found introducing people early is a plus and a lot of people like it. Expect to see a LOT of young characters that won't pop up until much later. You've already seen Tizoc, Hon-Fu, Duo Lon, Beni, Kyo, and others... but my next few cutaways will be even better. Expect K', Iori Yagami... and even Ash Crimson!


	16. Tiger vs Hawk

A/N: GRAAAAAAAAAH! So I'm playing Real Bout Fatal Fury… decent game, by the way, when I finally get to the main man at the end… Geese Howard in all his hakama glory. Now I was slaughtered by Geese in Fatal Fury 3 on the easiest setting, mind you, and my struggles against Billy and Yamazaki in Real Bout seemed to promise me that I would not be disappointed against Geese.

I beat him my first try.

I was shocked… and ENRAGED! DAMN YOU SNK FOR CUTTING CORNERS ON YOUR COOLEST BOSS! I DESPISE YOU FOR THIS MORE THAN I DID WHEN I FOUND YOU HADN'T MADE GAROU'S SEQUEL YET!

Evan Jones: Yes… Mai is evil and seductive. I hate her, mainly because of the various fanfics I've read about her being cheery and nice and everybody likes her. She will suffer this chapter. My overall hatred of ninjas actually occurred _because_ of her, and as a result, my original-fiction assassin character (Miki Owikamki) ended up being the anti-ninja, stemming from my hatred of ninjas which now applies to every one I see except for Eiji and Strider Hiryu, and this line sums her up very well: "Who cares about stealth and all that crap? There's no set of tracks you can't cover with a big pile of dead bodies."

Disclaimer: You know I don't own this… or Kaiketsu Zubat for that matter.

It was just another day at the local gym in the grittier side of Osaka, various thugs and punks working out at the weights, sparring against each other, some even climbing up the rock wall, which had to be regularly repaired.

"You say he always comes in?"

"Every day, like clockwork, right about…now."

Sure enough, the doors opened as a cold silence fell upon the gym. The figure's bizarre hairstyle blocked the view of one of his eyes under a cascade of red, and his red and black outfit was well-known… as was the moon symbol on his back.

"Here," said Iori Yagami as he shelved out a few thousand yen. "Enough to cover my usage?"

The manager eyed down at the money and flipped through it. Of course, even if Iori didn't pay enough -which he never did- he wasn't going to say no… especially not to _Yagami_. "Go ahead."

Iori nodded and walked over to the wall, flexing his fingers.

"What? There's not even any grab-points over there!"

"You don't know Yagami then."

Iori lunged upwards, throwing his hands against the rock… cutting _into_ the rock and making his own handholds along the way. It was a ritual of sorts, and the entire audience stayed quiet.

Upon reaching the top, Iori sliced into the wall again and slid down, working out the slight ache in his fingers upon landing.

"Thanks again," he muttered when someone in a business suit stepped in front of him.

"Mr. Yagami? My employer is interested in hiring your services for a short period of time."

"Not interested," Iori said as he stepped around the Shiranui ninja in disguise, making sure to hit his shoulder into his interrogator's.

"Mr. Yagami-" the ninja put his hand on Iori's shoulder to stop him, "I don't think you understand."

Iori clenched his fists as his soon-coming attack played in his head. "No…" Iori said, turning around with speed unimagined, "I don't think _YOU_ understand!" An efficient flailing of his fingers cut out the annoyance's eyes in a second. Iori kicked him away then opened the door. "It's Kusanagi or nothing."

And then he was gone.

* * *

_Back to Japan,_ Geese thought as he and Billy sat in the Howard Connection's private jet, ready to demolish Kim Kaphwan in the semi-finals.

"Hey, Boss?" Billy asked as he knocked Geese out of focus.

Geese just looked at him. "Yes?"

"I was wondering… if since Kim broke my old staff…"

Geese smiled, "Billy, my bodyguard -who just saved me the time and effort to throttle Blood- is welcome to take whatever funds he needs to purchase an acceptable weapon."

"Actually," Billy said, getting slightly nervous, "I was hoping you'd give me time off I'd need to make a new staff from scratch."

Geese just stared at Billy, imagining internally the sight of Billy working down at a carpentry station, freaking out the moment he made the tip of one side of the staff too rounded. That _could_ take a long while. "About how long would this take?"

Billy grinned and pulled out a notebook. "Already got the list of the things I need, and most of them are already accounted for. Probably just take a couple of weeks."

Geese relaxed. "Good. I'll offer help at any point you need."

"Thanks boss."

* * *

Terry Bogard sat in his Japanese office building, focusing.

For all intensive purposes, he had lost to Geese a year ago, saved only by his father-turned-guardian angel. This year would be different. He was stronger… and Geese had festered in Southtown, restoring his reputation and caring for that bastard of a child which would be killed in time.

It was then that he opened one of his eyes, seeing Kim Kaphwan standing there.

"Yes?"

Kim's face held agitation in it as he smashed his hands down on the desk, getting Terry's attention. "Wolfgang Krauser, an entrant in this tournament, was killed a bit ago."

"I know. Geese Howard is a horrible man."

Kim's eyes narrowed. "Cause of death was a sword in the head."

"As said before, Geese Howard is a horrible man."

Kim wasted no time splitting the desk in half with one axe-kick. "Forensics evidence showed that _Lawrence Blood_, and _not_ Geese Howard, was responsible. You broke our deal, Bogard. Count me out of your scheme, and if you make one move towards me because of it, the entire might of Korean martial arts will fall upon you, Terry Bogard!" He stormed out, not expecting Bogard to call out in an assertive tone.

"Just fight Geese Howard," Terry said. "After your fight with him… justice may seem a fairy tale to you."

Kim stopped and glared at Terry before leaving. _We shall see!_

* * *

It was just another day in Japan for Joe Higashi, having decided to tag along with Ryo Sakazaki and help in keeping Terry's various minions in check. Needless to say, it was pretty boring, even though Ryo seemed to be a nice guy.

"So you use Muay Thai, no?" Ryo asked as he and Joe walked down the street together.

"Yeah," Joe answered. "Doesn't your girlfriend also use it?"

Ryo immediately blushed and seemed caught off-guard, almost flailing up and to the side. "What? She's not my girlfriend!"

"And why not? A nice, classy lady… she runs a clean business… you both are already connected with Geese's…" Joe trailed off, deciding not to bring up the Yuri Sakazaki incident that occurred in 1979.

"Yeah well…" Ryo immediately grabbed hold of Joe's shoulder and steered him into a crowd.

"Wha-"

"Being followed. Pink hair, five o'clock," Ryo whispered.

"Should we?" Joe asked, not bothering to look behind himself.

Ryo subtly shook his head, "Just wait, and don't look back."

Joe grinned. "Or…" Without giving Ryo time to react, Joe immediately ran off, and the pink haired girl gave pursuit…

Only to have Ryo trip her on instinct and pin her to the ground.

"Shiranui?" Joe asked.

"Most likely," Ryo answered as he lifted her up into the air. "Alright girl, answers."

The pink haired smiled. "That one."

"RYO!" Joe cried out, but it was too late. Before Ryo could even turn around, he caught a punch that seemed even harder than Geese's in his back, causing him to fly into a wall and leave a sizable crater.

The crowd had parted, revealing a bald boxer standing there, having disregarded his gloves for more punching strength. "So you're Sakazaki?" asked the boxer known as Axel Hawk as Ryo struggled to stand up. "Not as strong as I heard."

_Jeez!_ Ryo thought as he caught his breath, _He hit a lot harder than the other losers like Jack and Mickey did!_ He readied to fight, but Joe stepped in.

"You're not gonna get all the fun," the kickboxer said, "Just chase down pink-hair, wherever she went. Besides, I owe you for earlier."

Ryo nodded and ran off, the crowd now surrounding the two fighters in a symbolic battle of David and Goliath. Axle and Joe charged, Joe hand-springing over Axel's first punch and shooting a leg back to knock the lard-ass away. Joe quickly spun around, launching a proper Tiger Kick into Axel's backside.

_That ought to do it,_ Joe thought as Axel stumbled and fell to the ground, but to Joe's shock, the boxer just stood back up. "What the hell?"

"Joe Higashi," Axel muttered as he stood up, "Bogard had plenty of files on you."

"Well I'm a lot better than before!" Joe shouted as he charged again, dodged a tough hook and started swinging at Axel's face, jumping back to dodge another punch… only to get hit with some sort of energy shot. _Dammit! He certainly isn't just any boxer… can't underestimate him…_

Axel moved in for the kill, raising his arms up in a sign of mock-vulnerability before going for the jugular, punching with the kind of ferocity and speed that made Joe's own rapid-fire punches seem outmoded, the Japanese kickboxer barely able to keep up with blocking, let alone dodging. But there _was_ one advantage Joe knew he had against the American.

Axel's fists came rocketing at him again, as expected, and Joe took the hit, practically feeling his bones break under the ferocity of the attack.

But it also gave Joe the time he needed to grab the big guy's arms, pull them apart, and Tiger Knee him right in the jaw. As soon as Joe landed, he quickly chained it to Screw Upper the still-airborne Axel, and when Axel landed, he landed _hard_ and didn't get up.

"And Higashi wins by technical knock-out," Joe joked as he walked away. _Now if I could only find some place that sold Kaiketsu Zubat records…

* * *

_

_She went down this way!_ Ryo thought as he rounded a corner, jumping a trashcan and looking around for _anything_.

But there was… or at least _seemed_… to be no one there, and Ryo turned and walked away.

As soon as Ryo was out of eyesight and earshot, a purple-clad ninja landed softly on the ground, and the pink-haired girl followed suit.

"So Sakazaki is involved with this," Eiji Kisaragi mused. "Normally I'd be glad to help… but I'm already hired-out for the moment."

"By whom?"

Eiji grinned underneath his mask as he walked away. "Don't know. But my target is some gluttonous bastard named Cheng Sinzan off in Hong Kong…"

"Suit yourself… because Terry might just kill Ryo anyways."

Eiji paused and chuckled. "Sakazaki is no weakling… he was just a whelp when we fought in the King of Fighters '80… but so was I. We've both aged well, honing our strength. So tell your boss to try to kill Ryo Sakazaki all he wants, because he won't win."

* * *

"Geese!" Joe shouted as he watched the American businessman and his bodyguard step into the fighting arena. "Great to see you."

"Same to you, Higashi," Geese returned as his eyes strayed over to Ryo. "Sakazaki."

"Howard," Ryo answered to the man only two years his senior. "As we've stated before, once Terry is dealt with, we'll deal with our… past grievances."

"Fine," Geese answered as he looked over to Mary, who was warming up with a few light stretches. He walked over to her and helped the policewoman up. "I heard you did well in your fight."

"Certainly…" Mary said while smiling, "But I'm saving _it_ for against _her_," Mary said while nodding

"Good thinking," Geese said. "Any idea where Kagura and Goenitz are?"

Mary shook her head. "No… said they had something to look into and ran off again. Speaking of people running off…" she looked around, "Where the hell is Joe?"

"You don't think hair-job got jumped, do you?" Billy asked as he sat down and caught his breath.

"Unlikely," Ryo commented. "That boxer went after _me_, not Higashi. Probably I'm higher up on Bogard's hitlist than Joe, so…"

"Sorry I'm late!" Joe cried out as he ran into the stadium, record album in his hand.. "I just had a little trouble finding the song!"

"Song?" Billy asked, "What song?"

Mary smiled. "Just a little something to shut up Miss 'Nippon Icchi' after I'm done throttling her."

"And what would _that_ be?" Mai asked as she fell from the sky, landing like a feather in front of Mary and looking at her.

Mary grinned. "Okay. Everybody that's not going to kick floozy butt, get out of here."

"Fine by me," Geese said while grinning. "I have a match to get to."

"Geese," Mary called out, "I'm just in this to deal with floozy here. You'll need all the strength you can get for Terry, so don't worry about having to fight me."

Everybody just looked at Mary with a look of shock. She, a detective, was going to throw her match with a known criminal? Well… at least she knew he had a better chance than she did to beat Terry.

"Then don't lose," Geese said. And then they were gone… and it was just Mary and Mai…

"Can't win by default this time," Mary taunted as she cracked her neck.

"Won't have to. Your forte is grapples and throws, correct?" Mai asked as she produced from her robes an iron fan. "You'll have to get close to use those, and I've got plenty of these."

"Whatever," Mary said as she charged, dodging the first fan and sliding under the second, using the opportunity to kick out Mai's legs and then launch up and knock the kunoichi away with another kick to the head.

"I took some notes from the grandfather on other things to," Mary said as Mai flipped in the air and landed with the grace of a cat.

"You have decent strength and speed," Mai growled, "I'll give you that. But my grandfather taught me a few things too… and they transcend just being a few good kicks!" Mai handsprung at Mary, twirling up in the air as iron fans rained down like hail, and Mary was hard-pressed to find shelter against the attack. As gravity took its toll on Mai and pulled her down, she welcomed it, spinning and striking down with her elbow to likely kill Mary.

Unfortunately for Mai, the very technique she had employed to end the fight in one smooth move gave Mary the time to recover, jump out of the way, and as soon as Mai was in prime position…

WHAM! Mai took a hard punch to the face that knocked her away, leaving Mary smiling. "Even if you are stronger than me, I definitely can out-skill you."

"Out-skill this!" Mai shouted as she launched herself at Mary, her robes igniting on fire from the Cho Hissatsu Shinobibachi as she neared Mary…

Only to be stopped by Mary's own version of the Atami Nage, a purplish aura from her hands holding back the fire.

"I remember Terry hated this move…" Mary said as she grabbed Mai by the arm and slammed her on the ground before jumping in the air, "So how about YOU!" Like against Jubei, Mary slapped her feet against Mai's head and spun, throwing her enemy into the stadium seating. "You lose, Shiranui!"

When Mai woke up, she heard a song playing through the entire arena. It was a song from an old Japanese hero show called "Kaiketsu Zubat", and a single line kept playing over and over again…

"Nippon ja niban me da," or in English… "_You're just number 2 in Japan._"

* * *

Kim Kaphwan again let out a quiet sigh and focused as he stepped into the arena, Geese Howard standing opposite of him.

"I've heard quite a lot of dirt about you," Kim said as he readied to fight.

"I'm not one to deny what I've done," Geese answered back. "I don't try to be a great man… just a man that holds on to what is rightfully his."

"Like a whole city?" Kim shouted at Geese, pointing a finger at him. "I'm not one to say Terry Bogard is a good person, but you're not any better than him!"

"Don't classify me with that bastard," Geese growled. "I owe you for breaking my bodyguard's weapon…"

"Fine!" Kim shouted as he kicked himself up in the air, shooting down at an angle and letting gravity augment his force of his kick that would no doubt break through _any_ Atami Nage Geese might try…

Except Geese just stepped to the side, so the only thing Kim shattered was a small part of the arena. "One of my former bouncers had a move like that called the 'Surprise Rose'. I made it a habit to know how to avoid those types of attacks."

"Dodge these then!" Kim shouted as he shot forward again, using one of his legs to kick himself forward while the other circled around and connected onto Geese's shoulder, causing the American to slightly crumple under the force of the blow, but not fall.

Instead, Geese's grimace became a sadistic grin as his hand lashed out, grabbing Kim by the throat and squeezing. Kim's sight began to grow dim, but he quickly kicked at Geese again… but it was all for naught because Geese just grabbed the leg, slammed Kim's head into the ground, and flung him away like a feather.

Kim struggled to his feet as the words Terry had mentioned before resurfaced in his head…

_Just fight Geese Howard. After your fight with him… justice may seem a fairy tale to you._

Geese was on him again, flying up in the air. Kim naturally shot up too in an anti-air technique, but Geese just slashed down with his hand, and Kim was again knocked aside effortlessly.

_How can… anyone like that… be so strong?_ Kim thought as he did his best to throw up his defenses as Geese battered him around. Before Kim knew it, he had caught a Raging Storm clean to the chest, and was sprawled out thirty feet away.

"So much for Korea's favorite son," Geese spat out as he turned away.

_Can't lose…_ Kim thought as he struggled to his feet, _Dong Hwan… Jae Hoon…_ images of Kim's two sons, his friends… his wife… his disciples all flowed through his mind as he wobbled to his feet. "For Korea!" Kim screamed as he charged at Geese, unloading every last ounce of strength he had, punching and kicking with such blinding speed Geese didn't know what to block first.

Geese took the attack full-force and staggered back as Kim tried to catch his breath, and the Korean was expecting to hear Geese say something along the lines of 'Impressive' or 'I underestimated you'.

Instead Kim heard "Die."

By the time Geese's Deadly Rave was over, Kim couldn't even think straight, let alone stand.

A/N: The King of Fighters '93 is winding down… which means at long last, Geese Howard can finally exact his revenge against the more-sinister Terry Bogard! Not only that, but Andy is waiting for the opportune moment to dispose of Ryo Sakazaki and Joe Higashi, and it seems that the younger Bogard's bone-crushing power might just be even greater than his brother's in Bogard Blitzkrieg!


	17. Bogard Bliztkrieg

A/N: Amazing how fast I can grunt these chapters out. Of course, getting through the rest of "The King of Fighters", beating _Tales of Phantasia_ on Mania, picking fights on the 4Kids.tv message boards, and finishing revising another of my fanfics have been keeping me from doing this… but on the plus side, I've got 51 reviews! Over halfway to my goal of 100!

Disclaimer: I don't own the King of Fighters, Fatal Fury, or Art of Fighting, but if I ever got into SNK expect me to push remakes of all the post-AoF2 games (game time, not real life timeline) that would deal with this story. I figure if a fat lard-ass like Falcoon can worm his way in with fanart, there's a damn good chance I can do one better and restore SNK to its former glory… right under Capcom. (Gets shot)

_Evan Jones_: as of playing _Tales of Phantasia_, another ninja has been added to the list I actually like! Suzu Fujibayashi is another wonderful anti-Mai… mainly because she's only 11 and hasn't had the time to grow up or out…

_Phil Urich_: Thanks for coming into the fold, Phil! Expect Billy to be a big focus for the King of Fighters storylines, in which his own rivalry against Kim Kaphwan will sorely test his resolve to win. As for Andy, at the moment, yes. He's not necessarily evil, just loyal to his brother and Mai. But there's also a reason I threw in the line about _Macbeth_…

P.S. I don't know French, so I'm just gonna put the French statements in italics with quotes.

Disclaimer: Don't own any of the games mentioned here…

* * *

The small, window-side apartment in the northern part of the town was mostly bare as a pair of French agents sat down, the platinum-haired male sipping a cup of coffee as he scanned the streets with a pair of binoculars.

"_There they are,"_ stated the man as he handed the binoculars to his associate and higher-up, who nodded and took them from him. _"Serpent and Crane…"_

"_Indeed, Ash,"_ Elizabeth answered, taking a good look at Goenitz and Maki as they walked down the street together, the latter going over a few papers Elizabeth Blantorche assumed to be the report concerning Rugal Bernstein. _"Amazing… Goenitz actually succeeded in overcoming the Momentum of Wills…"_

"Yeah," Ash Crimson answered back with sarcasm, "One down… six to go…" 

"_Whatever the case, I think our job here is done,"_ Elizabeth said as she picked up her riding crop and tapped Ash on the head with it twice... much to his irritation. _"Time to go."

* * *

_

Geese clenched his fists as he stared at the entrance to the arena, knowing exactly who was going to be stepping through it and all he had done.

Terry Bogard wouldn't snatch victory from the jaws of defeat this time.

Slowly, the red-capped figure came into view, scowling at Geese for yet another reason…

"Ryan throwing the match away… pathetic. Once again you have Southtown Police around your finger, Geese…"

"Mary's doing this to keep her grandfather safe, Terry," Geese answered, "Now shove it and fight!"

* * *

"You're not even going to watch your friend fight?" Maki asked as she prepared to get in a limo and go to the airport to rendezvous with Vice and Mature.

"Geese will be fine on his own," Goenitz answered, but he didn't expect Maki to glare at him.

"Come on, Leo. He's a good friend and you owe him a lot. Although I only trust him about as far as I can sneeze, you two _are_ very good friends. All _I'm_ going to do is check up on your secretaries… nothing fantastic. Besides, if something bad happens to Higashi, Kane, and the others… things will work out better for them if they have Quetzocoatl there to lend a hand, even if you're missing a chunk of your power. Now hop to it."

"If you insist," Goenitz said. "Just be careful."

"I've got the powers of the Mirror of Yata! What could go wrong?"

* * *

"You should know one thing before we start," Terry said as a few cameramen stepped into the bare arena. "This fight is going to be aired on closed-circuit back in Southtown… so all of your loyal subjects can watch their beloved evil king die!"

"Never knew you were one for happy endings," Geese shot back. "Now… are we going to get this over with or what?"

"Gladly!" Terry shouted, charging forward. The Bogard jumped to the side to evade a very fast Reppuken before launching a Burn Knuckle, catching Geese before he could throw up an Atami Nage for defense.

_He's a lot faster_, Geese thought as he ducked and blocked what attacks he could, trying to find an opening. _There!_ As Terry crouched down to kick at Geese's shins, the businessman stamped down with his foot, burying it in Terry's stomach before swinging his leg up… with Terry still on it.

Geese kicked Terry away, firing a Ressatsu bolt to add a bit of damage to the technique. As Terry landed, he caught his breath before looking at Geese and contemplating a feasible strategy. _Howard's entire fighting style revolves around countering techniques,_ Terry thought as he charged again, _I have to just keep throwing feints then!_

A small hop turned Geese's gaze upwards, letting Terry have the opening to swing his feet under Geese's armpits and then flip back, knocking Geese to the ground. Geese retaliated by striking into the back of Terry's left knee and swinging his own leg up, catching Terry in a headlock and bringing the younger American down to punching range. After a few punches, Terry managed to break free through sheer persistence and determination, rolling away as Geese got to his feet.

As soon as he did, however, Geese took a pair of kicks to the face, knocking him back down again. He flipped up, kicking away another of Terry's strikes before sending off a pair of Reppukens that were matched by Terry's Power Waves.

"We're too evenly matched Geese! You can't win!"

"Funny," Geese said back while smiling and removing the white shirt of his hakama outfit, "You say that like it implies _you_ can!"

* * *

The room Andy was in was pitch-black as the Shiranui ninja stared at the scroll at his feet. They had said that within every Shiranui there was a shadow form… an inverted and brutal personality hidden in every ninja of the clan…

The question was… was Andy willing to call upon that kind of power to help his brother out?

A hand rested on his shoulder as he looked up to see Mai smiling there. She picked up the scroll and handed it to Andy. "Do it for us."

Andy nodded… for Mai and himself.

* * *

Yuri Sakazaki was at a loss as to who to root for as she watched Geese and Terry battle it out to see who would carry away the title for the King of Fighters '93. The fight was still to close and neither side had yet landed a serious injury, and her usual cheery attitude was replaced by one of anxiety.

A knock at her door pulled her away from the screen, and when she opened it, she saw Lilly Kane standing there.

"Oh, it's you."

Lilly grinned happily, "Just came to see how you were doing and to give you some support now."

"What do you mean?"

Lilly just sat down on the simplistic bed and pointed to the screen. "You saw Geese Howard at his very worst, correct?" The sweet expression Lilly had shown were gone, replaced by a seriousness that Yuri herself doubted she could match.

"Yeah… I mean, he kidnapped and threatened to kill me to make my dad do all sorts of horrible things."

Lilly nodded. "I won't deny the fact that Geese did a lot of bad things when you were about my age; I'd be a loyal zombie for him if I said I did.

"But the fact," Lilly continued, "Is Geese has changed a lot. I mean… first he's a father now. And every young martial artist he might hold hostage could be another Rock… Terry might've been right when he said Geese had grown soft."

"You don't believe that, do you?" Yuri asked. Lilly shook her head.

"Geese is never going to be Mr. 'Let's Save the World for All the Puppy Dogs'. He'd Reppuken himself in the ass before he'd do that. _But_ he'd Deadly Rave himself in the ass before he'd throw what he has with Marie and everybody else. I promise you that." Lilly stood up and started to walk out when Yuri called out to her.

"So… if Geese beats Terry now, does that mean you're going to enter the next King of Fighters tournament?""

Lilly turned around, her sincere face once again showing, "Nope! Even once he beats Terry, he's not officially retired… not in my mind! Besides, I'm not good enough yet to live up to his legacy."

* * *

Ryo was just done checking up with King on the phone when he sensed something… _wrong_.

It was… _quiet_… but not the bad kind of quiet… the "happy" kind of quiet that you always saw in the Disney movies. Now that seemed all fine and dandy but a gym room was not the kind of place where you'd hear that… _ever_.

Naturally Ryo _knew_ something was wrong… and he fired a Koah-Ken into the brightest, least conspicuous spot in the entire room, grinning as he heard the sound of somebody getting the wind knocked out of them. He walked over to the source and found…

"A tree stump?"

A sudden chill descended over the Kyokugen fighter as he felt somebody grab him from behind.

"Old ninja technique. Don't you ever watch the movies?"

The next thing Ryo felt was pain… blinding pain of getting his back practically impaled by his assailant's knee, sending him flying into the wall. Ryo struggled to turn around, seeing in front of him Andy Bogard… but he seemed different… darker. Then Andy was in front of him, putting him in a chokehold while smashing his head into the crater, starting to leave blood behind.

But a Kyokugen student was made of sterner stuff than a traditional fighter, and though dazed, Ryo lashed out, smashing his fist back at Andy and knocking him away. He immediately struck back, tackling Andy, rolling with him in an exchange of punches and headbutts, but it was clear that Ryo was on the receiving end most of the time, and eventually Andy kicked him off.

_Dammit… where the hell did he get that kind of power?_ Ryo thought as he caught his breath, Andy still standing strong. He tried to get his bearings as to where Geese's entourage was in relation to him…

"Any last requests?" Andy asked as Ryo gathered up what energy he could. "Well?"

Ryo nodded, charging at Andy and barely managing to dodge the next strike before planting his hands right on Andy's chest. "Haoh-Sho-Koh-KEN!"

Needless to say, even with his newfound strength, Andy could not throw up a defensive force to match that of the devastating attack, and instead was blasted through entire walls… skidding to a halt on the lobby of the gym, right next to Joe, Billy, and Mary.

The three fighters were confused as to Andy's darker complexion and even moreso by how he had been blasted right next to them… until Ryo came shooting into the room, punching Andy in the face before being kicked into a bench.

_Still able to stand after that…_ Andy thought as he got to his feet after trouble, _Sakazaki _**was**_ as resilient as Eiji said. _"So… afraid to fight dirty?" He struck at Mary first… the woman that had injured Mai… and kicked her clean in the head before spinning around and knocking back Joe. He then charged at Billy, but a fireball shot off by Ryo threw him off guard… unfortunately, and Mary shot back, catching him in a harsh joint lock that incapacitated his arms.

Billy, on the meantime, quickly pried off the top wooden plank of the bench Ryo had crashed into. It probably wouldn't last more that a few strikes, but it was the right shape and size to use as a substitute staff. _Damn you Kim… next year I'm going to blow you out of the water!_ Billy thought as a yelp from Mary turned his attention back to the fight. Andy had somehow overpowered her, breaking free.

Joe sprang into action, sending off a tornado at Andy the Shiranui ninja blocked by just raising his hand, only to get it practically crumpled into his body as Joe's foot smashed into it.

_Use the power_, Andy thought as he looked at his four targets. _Take out the weak link first…_

The next thing Billy knew, Andy was in front of him, striking into his chest with bone-breaking ferocity… the only thing that saved Billy from actually getting a few broken ribs was that he went with the attack, sliding back and trying to catch his breath. Andy didn't let him, however, instinctively dodging Mary's offensive to the side, grabbing her, and then throwing her like a Javelin into Billy, leaving both of them on the ground in no condition to fight.

As Andy turned around, however, he hadn't expected to see Joe shining with a yellow aura as Ryo gathered his energy for… something else…

_Not today, Higashi… this time you die!_ Andy arced into the sky like a crescent moon, his entire body igniting with a black sheen as Joe looked in horror. He wouldn't get it ready in time…

Until a burning shaft of wood, sharpened to a razor's point, pierced Andy's femur and Mary came from behind somehow, kicking him in the back of the head.

Andy fell back down to eye level, with both Joe and Ryo smiling.

"ZANRETSUKEN!"

"TNT PUNCH!"

The rapid-fire flurry of punches came from two angles, completely getting Andy off-guard. The barrage ended in the worst imaginable way: Joe conjuring up the gigantic Screw Upper that knocked Andy up into the air uncontrollably as Ryo shot up after him, striking with flying uppercut.

Andy went flying, landing finally on the rooftop… the shadow effects of the scroll wearing off as life ebbed slowly away from him…

Terry… Mai… 

"ANDY!"

_Mai!_ Andy thought as he saw Mai running next to him, embracing him. "I'm… sorry… even with the powers of the Inverse-Shiranui… I couldn't defeat them…"

"It's okay," Mai soothed as she pulled the brand out of his leg in one quick motion, replacing it with a burning fan that cauterized the wound. "You'll be alright, and that's what matters. Can you stand?"

Andy nodded. "Barely."

Mai smiled and kissed him once before putting one of his arms over her shoulders. "Then let's go."

* * *

"Double Reppuken!"

"Round Wave!"

Neither Geese nor Terry had gotten truly serious yet, but that changed the moment Terry grinned.

"Can you dance?" he asked, gathering up energy into his hands.

"Yes…"

"THEN SHUT UP AND DANCE! TRIPLE GEYSER!"

A triplet of fiery wells erupted from the ground, each one only inches away from Geese, but as soon as the attack died down, Geese charged and spun on the balls of his feet and kicked Terry in the face. As the Bogard reeled with the blow, he felt the top of his head become a _lot_ draftier. As he looked back…

His hat… _THE BASTARD WAS WEARING HIS HAT!_

"Is this… '_Okay'?_" Geese mocked as Terry lashed out, a Burn Knuckle coming far too close for comfort before Terry's knee sprang up, getting Geese in the stomach and knocking him up in the air.

"NO MORE ATAME NAGE FOR YOU, GEESE! BUSTER WOLF!"

Traditionally, Geese would have taken the attack in stride. Terry hadn't hit him that hard yet, and a few bumps and bruises from that attack wouldn't kill him…

Except Terry punched downwards, straight at Geese's arm. The two figures shot down to the earth, and when they landed, a horrifying snap was heard as Terry's fist had broken Geese's left arm in twain.

There was a lot of pain… Geese was not one to deny that… but he was the master of Hakkyokusieken, he had demolished both Kim Kaphwan and Wolfgang Krauser… he wasn't going to lose!

Geese kicked back, knocking Terry away before the younger American could snatch back his hat. Ripping his hakama to several pieces, Geese arranged a sling for his arm, glaring at Terry.

"This fight isn't over…" Geese growled, "And it's not going to be over until YOU'RE DEAD!"

A/N: Geese and Terry go together like peanut butter and arsenic… they just don't work. With the conclusion of the King of Fighters '93 comes the epic clash of powers, in which Geese must pull out all the stops to defeat Bogard… but can he do it with a broken arm? Find out in Mighty Raging Storm?

Omake time! Well… since these things are starting to be a LOT more canon than I had originally foreseen… well, you get the picture.

The Misadventures of Benimaru pt. 2 or You **sure** you're not Garcian Smith?

After another fun Internet chat with Duo Lon, Benimaru sighed with relief. The ninja was a pretty good guy… albeit arguably more feminine looking than Benimaru himself… but that really didn't matter.

A few more clicks brought Benimaru over to the Capcom official website, with news of Capcom's newest online game: _Killer7 vs. Handsome Men_. The game was good, and Benimaru enjoyed the battles that came down to skill as the two assassin organizations battled it out…

He noticed one online user was sticking with an original character that was based off the character sprite of Garcian Smith, the African-American protagonist of the actual game. The character's screenname was "Seth Smith"… and seemed to prefer fighting with his bare fists than the traditional guns.

Benimaru, being an avid player of the game, quickly logged onto his own character… a female persona based of KAEDE Smith (yes… her name was in all-caps) named "Benana Smith", who incidentally wore a giant banana suit. He then moved his character up to Seth and clicked on the "Chat" command.

Benana: So… who are you?

Seth Smith: I'm a mercenary under the employ of a man named Ling… what about you?

Benana: LOL! XD! No… seriously… what do you do?

Seth Smith: Can't tell you, it's classified. Then again, I wouldn't tell a giant banana.

Benana: IT'S A PLAY ON MY NAME, DAMMIT! GRRGG… If we met in real life, I would SO Electrigger you!

Seth Smith: Like you really can do that?

Beniana: Okay wise guy…

Several seconds later, at the Anti-NESTS mercenary base located in the northern United States, Vanessa looked up as she heard her teammate let off a string of obscenities, apparently as a stream of electricity caused his computer to crash.

_What a putz…_ the female boxer thought. _Him and his stupid role-playing games…_

OMG! IT'S STRIDER HIRYU!

Eiji Kisaragi… master ninja… sword arch-enemy of Ryo Sakazaki…

Couldn't help but feel embarrassed as he walked down a street in downtown Hong Kong in full ninja get-up in the middle of the day, the various criminals and thugs looking at him and laughing.

_Stupid employer…_ Eiji thought as he flashed back to that mysterious man with a mustache…

"_I'm sorry… but I don't do jobs without at least knowing my employer's name. Sorry… clan policy."_

"_Will a pseudonym work?"_

"_Depends…"_

"_How about 'Rei'."_

"_The Japanese word for Light?"_

"_It also can mean Zero…_" 

Needless to say, the pay was good… _very_ good… and Eiji had reluctantly taken the case. Better yet, provided at least _some_ bodily harm came to Mr. Cheng Sinzan, he'd get the full payment…

* * *

"Don't worry Mr. Sinzan," said Hon-Fu as he looked at the fat Tai chi practically eat everything in the Chinese Buffet, "I'm China's best. I'll keep you safe."

"Even better…" Cheng asked in between feral gulpings down of General Tsao's Chicken, ignoring table manners, "Than that 'Chun Li' woman?"

"Sir," Hon-Fu correct, "This isn't a crossover fanfic. The only place Chun Li exists in this story is in the arcade machines."

* * *

And unfortunately for Eiji, he just happened to cross one of those arcades as several people played _Marvel vs. Capcom 2_. And unfortunately for Eiji, somebody just happened to be playing as the coolest ninja to have ever existed… Strider Hiryu.

The flowing red scarf, the badass maneuvers, awesome teleport moves, and an army of robotic birds and leopards to fight with… each and every opponent fell before him as various fanboys and fangirls oogled him.

And then one of them turned around and took one look at Eiji.

"OMG! IT'S STRIDER HIRYU!" she cried out as all the gamers turned and looked at Eiji… and the appearance was quite similar… even uncanny…

* * *

_What's that rumbling?_ Hon-Fu thought as he continued to keep an eye on Cheng…

And before he knew it, some purple-clad ninja was running through the restaurant, with what seemed to be a billion Strider Hiryu fans hot on his heels.

_MY TARGET!_ Eiji thought… he could still come out ahead of all of this…

In one graceful move, Eiji scooped up a fork and flung it at Cheng, managing to impale Cheng's hand as Eiji kept running away, leaving Cheng and Hon-Fu dumbfounded…

Eiji kept on running away at full-throttle, but he swore internally when he realized he had been herded into a dead-end. He turned around… looking at the blood-thirsty gamers. The boys wanted to kill to be him and the girls wanted to kill _over_ him… there was no way out except…

"Ancient Kisaragi technique!" Eiji shouted as his hands flashed through numerous Chakra motions, "Ninja art of teleporta- DAMMIT!"

His fingers had gotten tied up with each other...

"Okay… better idea!" Eiji said as he looked at the wall, "Modern _Art of Fighting_ technique! Wall Jump!"

Sure enough, Eiji jumped at one of the walls, rebounding off it and jumping to the other, working his way up, and oddly enough, the crowd became less fanatical as Eiji escaped them.

"What? Strider Hiryu isn't using his little hook to climb with?"

"I'M NOT STRIDER HIRYU!" Eiji shouted, "MY NAME IS EIJI KISARAGI!"

"HA! NOW I KNOW THE MAN RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ATTEMPTED MURDER OF CHENG SINZAN!" Hon-Fu shouted as he ran through the crowd and pointed at Eiji.

"Attempted murder?" Eiji asked. "Did that fork even break the skin?"

"Well, barely… but-"

"YES! I GET PAID!" Eiji shouted as he ran away, leaving Hon-Fu dumbfounded.


	18. Mighty Raging Storm?

A/N: Here it is… the conclusion of the "Return to Southtown" story arc, and also the last Geese-centric chapter for quite a while as we shift over to Kyo Kusanagi and Billy Kane. Will Geese vanquish the evil alternate-universe version of Terry, or will Howard's Goose be cooked? Let's find out!

_Evan Jones_: Once again, thanks for your constant reviews. You and Beni-kun have been with me since the beginning, and I can always count on you two to voice your opinions. Concerning Maki though, don't think she's helpless. She's a big girl and knows how to fight.

Disclaimer: I don't own this… but I wish I did, dammit!

Marie Howard smiled as young Rock walked with her through the supermarket, picking out various materials and toys for his up-coming birthday, slated to be coming up in one week. Thanks to Terry's non-exactness of having the King of Fighters take place on the same days as last year, Geese would be home with time to spare for his son's first birthday.

She didn't expect to see Takuma Sakazaki also out there, filling his cart with what appeared to be the entire stock of rice the market had. Takuma looked up and smiled.

"Hello, Mrs. Howard." There wasn't any hint of disliking in his voice, nor of sarcasm. He looked down and knelt down to look at Rock. "And this must be your son. Hello."

Rock smiled and grinned before sticking out his small hand. "Hello Mr. Saka…Saka…"

"Saka**zaki**," Marie said as Takuma shook the boy's hand. "I see that you are shopping for your students, correct?"

Takuma nodded. "I sure have a lot of them. But… I thought you'd be glued to the screen watching Geese fight?"

Marie shook her head, "Watch? No. Don't have the heart for it. Besides, what kind of wife would I be if I had to watch to make sure my husband would win his fights? I know he'll beat Terry." She helped Rock pick up another bag of flour. "The question is though," Marie asked, voice still gentle, "What you'll do when he gets back here."

Takuma sighed. "Kyokugenryu will leave him alone until we meet in a tournament, provided he doesn't try anything."

Marie smiled as she looked at Rock. "Don't worry, he's got too much to lose."

* * *

Beating Terry with a broken arm was not going to be easy… but Geese knew that didn't mean it would be impossible. He just had to set a lengthy, but very effective trap. But Geese knew it would work because he still had Terry's cap on his head.

"The next move is yours," Terry said as he grimaced sadistically. Geese would _pay_ for everything he had done… including the fact Southtown was turning a blind eye to the bastard yet again. Even Kyokugenryu was standing alongside him… and Terry's beloved hat had been snatched away in the heat of battle. But he had to react, see what Geese would do and counter it… it was the only way.

_He's waiting to see what I do_, Geese thought, _smart move. Unfortunately, it's also a risky move, Terry… and can you stop an avalanche after it has gained momentum?_

Geese slowly approached Terry, each of them having their minds tense, waiting for the first vulnerable action that the other would do to punish.

Geese then charged, thrusting forward with an open palm that Terry side-stepped, ready to grab Geese's neck and break it in one quick motion when…

"REPPUKEN!"

Terry was knocked away by the blue shot… but where had Geese managed to squeeze in the necessary movements? His left arm was broken and his right was just now retracting away. Then Terry saw it…

His feet. Geese had somehow used a Reppuken with his feet.

"Came up with that while fighting Goenitz once," Geese explained as he looked at the frustrated Terry. "Been aching to try it out."

"SHUT UP!" Terry shouted, flipping into a Crack Shoot, but stopping inches away from Geese's Atami Nage, flipping back onto his feet, and ducking under Geese's attempt to grab the leg. "TRIPLE GEYSER!" The three Power Geysers struck into Geese in quick succession, the first knocking him up in the air, the second sending him back farther, and the third only barely stopped from killing Geese by a timely block. "BUSTER WOLF!" Terry wasted no more energy holding back… Geese was tired, Geese had a broken arm, Geese was as good as dead this time.

Geese saw Terry flying at him like impending death… and this was going to be the moment of truth. If Geese managed to counter this, he _knew_ he would win. If he didn't, he was dead. It came down to a single arm to throw up in an Atami Nage…

_Fool!_ Terry thought as he closed in for the kill, _The Buster Wolf can split whole mountains in half! Goenitz barely survived it, and he was in better shape than Geese is right now!_ "TIME TO DIE!"

_Now!_ Geese thought. He swung his entire body to the side…

And Terry flew right by him, getting clothelined in the neck in the process before Geese kicked him away. As Terry tried to regain his bearings, Geese smiled. "Predictable."

Terry screamed out in frustration as his mind began quickly planned the last resort, letting the yells mislead Geese into thinking Terry wasn't thinking clearly. _Fine Geese. I've had enough fun here… and you're very…_ very_ good… but I've still got my ace… one you've never seen before._ Terry raised both of his arms in the shape of a 'T' as the sky darkened. "This is your end, Geese Howard," Terry said, dropping the façade of irritation for a cold voice of a merciless killer. "Dodge this, counter this, do whatever you want, but I'll just keep coming… Senpuken!"

Suddenly Terry began spinning very fast as a vortex appeared around him, taking the form of a giant tornado. Reacting quickly, Geese fired a Ressatsu bolt into it, aiming straight at Terry's head.

Geese didn't expect for it to bounce off the wall and pierce him in the leg.

"And now you can't run!" Terry shouted as he zoomed forward faster than Geese expected, enveloping Geese in the tornado and pummeling him with a seemingly unceasing round of punches… until Geese finally managed to blast himself out.

_SHIT!_ Geese thought as he wiped the blood from his mouth. _I barely got out of that with my life… and Terry will be on me any second now… Marie… Rock… Billy, Joe, Mary… _Ryo_… Goenitz…_

"NO ESCAPE!" Terry shouted. He was only inches away now.

_GOENITZ!_ Geese quickly realized. _This might not be too much different than those cyclones he would conjure up… and if that's the case… I can still win this!_ Just as he had done when he had been out-matched in every conceivable trait against Orochi Goenitz, Geese reached deep inside of himself for the strength that stemmed from the desire to win, even if it meant dying, as a brilliant blue aura covered Geese's right hand.

"YOU LOSE, GEESE!" the tornado had enveloped him…

Just like Geese wanted.

"MIGHTY RAGING STORM!"

It is important to know, at this point, the dynamics of the normal Raging Storm. Similar to the Power Geyser, in which one sends energy through the ground to a target in which it shoots up, the Raging Storm instead has the energy shoot up around the user in the shape of a cage of highly-charged Chi… perfect for both offense and defense.

The Mighty Raging Storm followed no such dynamics.

First of all, by slamming his hand down, Geese had ducked out of the way of the string of punches, and Terry's inertia was too great to react to in time to stop. So Terry could only look in horror as a gigantic tidal wave of blue energy cascaded into being from the ground, smashing into Terry and knocking him away at the speed of a super-sonic jet.

The arena walls didn't stop Terry… the whole support structure of an office building didn't stop Terry… not even a massive bamboo forest stopped Terry from being knocked away… and when the Bogard finally stopped, it was because he had hit into the side of a mountain, leaving a crater as big as an aircraft carrier before he collapsed.

Dead, no. Out of commission for innumerable months… yes.

_Tung…_ _Leopold… _Geese thought as he collapsed… _I did it!_

And he had Terry's hat… he couldn't forget that under any circumstances.

Suddenly, however, Geese felt a pair of hands help him up and Geese managed to look over to see Goenitz helping him up.

"Sorry I'm late," Goenitz grinned. "Did you win?"

"OF COURSE I WON, YOU PUTZ!"

* * *

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" everybody shouted as Rock blew out the lone candle on his birthday cake, which was conveniently shaped in the likeness of a white star with black wings. Marie beamed proudly as she rested against her husband, who still bore some of the injuries of his battle (a broken arm which would still heal without trouble), giving him a kiss that he instinctively returned.

There were the normal presents from Rock's childhood friends… the usual array of toys such as trains and boats, while Joe gave him one of his headbands (which Lilly thought was especially sweet), Mary brought over her dog for Rock to play with, and both of the Kanes fashioned a small purple fighting outfit for him. Geese waited until the end to hand Rock a final box, which the boy hungrily opened. He already knew what was going to be in it, he had seen his father put it in the box in the first place.

"What is it?" one of Rock's friends asked. Rock smiled and lifted up the red hat emblazoned with the words "Fatal Fury", undamaged from Geese's battles against Terry, to which everybody in the group applauded at.

Somehow, Geese felt that perhaps things would've been different if Master Tung had chosen Jeff over him. He didn't know _how_ different it would be, but he at least would know that both he and Terry would've been very different people. The hat would've stayed, however, and Geese knew that Terry would have been less malicious… so Geese wanted at least _one_ father to give his son that hat and steer him on the right path.

The new King of Fighters wouldn't have it any other way.

"Excuse me, Mr. Howard?" came one of his bodyguards as the presented him with an envelope. "This came in the mail for you."

Geese nodded and ripped it open.

The new team-play King of Fighters tournament was already being scheduled? Geese read it as Marie dreaded to think Geese would again be thrown into danger against another madman, apparently this time it was a man that went by "R". But Geese just kissed her again and called Billy over.

"You called, boss?" Billy asked right before the invite was thrust into his hands.

"You better get that new staff of yours ready in time Billy, because I don't think Mary and Joe are going to be able to win without you," he said while smiling, Marie instantly realizing what this meant.

Billy read over the letter and nodded, calling both Joe and Mary over to take a look at it.

* * *

Elsewhere in Southtown, two more envelopes were being delivered, one of which addressed to Ryo Sakazaki, who immediately discussed it with his father and best friend and agreed on entering to show Kyokugenryu to the word.

The third, however, had been intercepted, although the new courier still brought the letter to its destination, although three hours later to the bar La Illusion, where Yuri Sakazaki was drowning her sorrows in Shirley Temples as King tried to comfort her.

They both looked up, however, not expecting Mai Shiranui to walk in and explain the situation about her grandfather, and how _somebody_ had killed him and she wanted to find out whom. She offered her services with unwavering loyalty, swearing on the name of the Shiranui she would not harm or permit harm from her associates to befall them before walking outside.

Yuri and King discussed the situation for a moment, agreeing that although Mai could not be trusted absolutely, the old phrase of "Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer" seemed to fit the situation perfectly.

* * *

Meanwhile, in South Korea, Kim Kaphwan was limping down the street and looking at the envelope in his hands. The injuries he had suffered were neither long lasting nor would his limp exist in a month, but Kim swore he would demolish Geese Howard the next time they would fight.

But he needed teammates to enter the next tournament… even putting into account Jhun Hoon, he was still one short… and all of his students were still too young.

Just then, shocks and yells caused him to look up, seeing a large fat man with a giant iron ball and a tiny replica of Freddy Kruger battling the police. Although still not fully recovered, Kim charged, immobilizing them both with a series of swift kicks.

Perhaps he had just found those teammates.

* * *

The battle of electricity and crimson flames consumed the arena in Japan as spectators watched. Only one month after the captivating brawl between Geese Howard and Terry Bogard, this one proved to be no less incredible as both entrants battled to see who would earn the right to be team captain of Japan's entry into the King of Fighter '94. Japan's pride and joy of the Judo circuits had already been selected, but there was the desire for new blood to lead… which was what the last match of this tournament was about.

The first, a Japanese-American that melded electric techniques he claimed he obtained through a mishap with a giant radiosphinctopragmomitor with Shooting-style Muay-Thai was slowly losing the fight, but it was still so narrow that…

Nah… that last Serpent Wave there sorta clinched it for the fan-favorite, Kyo Kusanagi. Nevertheless, they both had won in the long run, since both being finalists, were still allowed to enter the tournament as a team… just with Kyo calling the shots.

Kyo helped Benimaru Nikaido up, insulting his apparel in a manner that was rather hostile, but he took the punch as the two laughed. But under the surface they knew…

It was the beginning of an ugly friendship.

* * *

One of Kyo's fans, a young girl that had known him since she had first talked to him while she was in Kindergarten, got a surprise as she got home. Standing there was a boy about her age she knew very well named Sie Kensou and their master, Chin Gentsai. Upon asking why they had come so early, Sie complained about Athena oogling Kyo instead of him, to which the purple-haired Psycho Soldier beamed him with a psychic blast.

Then their master called them out, saying they still had training to do for the tournament, and Athena was determined to win, just to get a match against the man she loved…

* * *

Strike after strike… Heidern continued attacking the target fifty feet away. This mission would have no guns… just fists. But more was at stake now, and Heidern_ would_ have revenge against Rugal this time, no doubt whatsoever. He had too much at stake, and he would not let Leona -who was the closest thing he had to a daughter now- die because of him again.

Ralf and Clark watched as their commander walked over to a tree and simply put his hand against it, watching in horror as the tree withered and died over the course of a single minute.

Heidern simply nodded and walked back… he was ready.

* * *

"Rugal's a nightmare," Vice moaned as she looked up at the ceiling in Japan while talking to Chizuru. "All we've found out so far is that he _does_ have Orochi power. But concerning his various business actions… nothing."

"You mean he covers his tracks well?"

Vice shook her head. "Far from it! It's just the fact he keeps us doing the mundane tasks that deal with legitimate business."

Mature nodded. "He lets his other two secretaries deal with that. Ana and Hermione seem a _bit_ too strong for average women as it is."

"Orochi powered as well?" Chizuru asked.

Vice shook her head. "Believe us when we say we'd know. Whatever this power is, we have no idea."

"But there _is_ one little bit of silver lining in all this," Mature said while cracking her knuckles, "We've seen him practice, and even _with_ that Orochi power, Geese, Maki, or Goenitz would smoke him in a minute."

A/N: Another tournament has come and gone, and now Rugal Bernstein has set his sights on demolishing the competition! Will Billy be able to settle the score with Kim? Will Mai stay true to her word… for once? Will Athena get the fight she dreams of? Find out next time in Enter Kusanagi.


	19. Enter Kusanagi

A/N: This is it… the beginning of the "Rugal" story arc and also my departure from writing about Geese Howard in all his awesomeness. (Waves goodbye) Sorry Geese! You still have the next two Fatal Fury games, '97, and 2000! Don't cry Geese! How hard do you think it is for me to actually write this?

Geese: LSN… all our time together! And you're just throwing it away!

Kyo: Boo-hoo. It's about damn time the author starts writing about me… a REAL hero!

K': What? A crummy fighter that by rights should've been in college this year instead of starting his first year of Grade 11?

Ash: Bah! All three of you are stupid… as opposed to me! The awesome Ash Crimson!

Everyone else: SHUT UP, FRENCHIE-LA-FEMME!

Sorry about that… the MAME player on my computer must've hacked into this document. Then again, I haven't downloaded 2003 yet…

Disclaimer: You know the drill.

* * *

It was a bright morning in Southtown as its populace awoke to another day of not worrying about serious criminal activities. Some, such as Ryo, looked up to the ceiling smiling and remembering the dreams they had the night before about the person they loved.

Others, such as Billy, woke up to stagger like the undead over to their private workstation to finish various pieces of wood and metal… in this case, a three-section staff.

Geese, however, woke up to the embrace of a loving wife in his arms as he looked at the rising sun. Terry no doubt would be off licking his wounds for a long time and Billy, Mary, and Joe would handle any tournament offerings delivered to him. Goenitz and Maki could worry about the Serpent Gods on their own… today would be the first day in the rest of his life.

* * *

On the other side of the globe, however, a phone was ringing in the Kusanagi household.

"Hello?" Kyo asked wondering who would be calling at this hour.

"Hello Kyo," Takuma said. "Is Saisyu there?"

"No…" Kyo said. "Which is really weird… he said he was looking forward to entering the tournament this time around and competing against you."

"I know, " Takuma answered to the young user of crimson flames, "I don't understand what happened. Did he say anything the last time you saw him?"

"Yeah… mentioning somebody named Rugal when he took a look at the King of Fighters invitation. He said he had something to deal with. You think he's okay?"

Takuma sighed, "Knowing who Rugal Bernstein is, I'm sure he's okay for the moment."

"Well, it's that's the case, Mr. Sakazaki…"

Another voice was heard, and Kyo quickly explained it was his girlfriend and he had to go.

"To be young and have a girlfriend," Takuma said happily…

…right before Ryo stepped into his line of sight, "As opposed to be two years younger than Geese Howard and _still_ not make a move on that attractive bartender."

"I'm taking my time!" Ryo groaned as he staggered over to the fridge for breakfast.

* * *

"So," Yuki Kushinida asked as she slipped a hand around Kyo's arm and rested her head on his shoulder, "Where to for our romantic date?"

Kyo patted Yuki on the head as he explained the plan for tonight, consisting of a game of putt-putt (which he would obviously let Yuki win at), a romantic picnic in the park, and then a moonlit stroll back home.

Yuki enjoyed the idea greatly, and couldn't believe her luck that Athena was also there, using the half-baked excuse to Sie that the sport (if you could call it that) required precision and skill, two things that Sie lacked.

Of course, Athena realized after five minutes how stupid the act was… after all, Kyo was _Yuki's_. Athena had known Yuki since before kindergarten, and Yuki was the lucky, as-far-as-she-knew ordinary girl that had gotten Kyo. To be fair, the kind of obsession she tried to hold back reminded her of Sie, who she did realize cared about her. But she couldn't see herself with Sie… she just couldn't.

But Sie actually seemed to believe the "precision and skill" line, and seemed to be enthralled with getting each shot perfect. Athena decided to do the same, silently thanking God that since they were going in front of Kyo and Yuki she didn't have to see him whenever she looked up.

Kyo, on the other hand, was enjoying his time with Yuki, realizing he really didn't have to _let_ her win; Kushinida was extremely good as it was.

"You always would fall asleep in geometry, that's why," she said while smiling sweetly.

* * *

Unfortunately, Kyo did have another familiar face to possibly worry about as a certain red-haired psychotic slashing machine named Iori Yagami decided to vent some frustrations of the day at the driving yard and make record breaking shots... with a putter.

WHAM! Iori imagined the first golf ball he hit was that damned Yashiro Nanakase… followed by that absurdly buxom -but even more loathed- Shermie… and then that bratty little drummer Chris…

Stupid band that went by "CYS" and their stupid multi-ethnic appeal… people didn't understand Iori's talent at the moment, the beauty of screaming into a microphone to make the fanboys and fangirls go wild. Stupid band stealing the show from him.

After exhausting two whole buckets of golf balls, Iori finally felt at ease with the world. He'd get them back twenty fold at the next gig they met. Yagamis didn't get mad, they got psychotic and they got revenge.

A ball rolled to his feet as he turned to see a girl with short brown hair and a sailor fuku run up to him. "This yours?" Iori asked as he tossed it back at her. "You're lucky it didn't hit me."

"I'm sure I am," Yuki answered as she bowed and ran back to Kyo, Iori shivering from a sudden chill he hadn't noticed before.

* * *

It was midday in the East Side Park of Southtown as a blonde-haired man wearing a white business suit sitting on a bench as he looked around.

A quiet thumping and a shadow that fell on him caused Kain to look up, seeing figure above him that towered up to six feet and five inches high.

"You're late, Grant," Kain Heinlein said before smiling. "But you're always worth the wait."

"Thanks," Grant said as he sat down on the bench with his best friend, noticing marginal physical improvements in his friend. He obviously assumed Kain had bolstered his strength in other ways. "Are you sure the guy said to wait here?"

Kain nodded. "Until noon. Then we walk straight forward for three miles." Checking his watch, Kain saw they still had ten minutes to kill. "So… how have you been doing?"

"Fine. You sure this White guy has connections?"

"Positive," Kain answered. "At the very least, we'll have better access to training materials to get better."

Kain didn't have to say anything else. The fact that Geese had pulled off an upstart victory against Terry only six months ago with a broken arm proved that Kain and Grant had to train further. What was more, there was that damned Lilly Kane, who had humiliated Kain in front of his sister. Kain wasn't sure he hated more now: Geese or Lilly.

Checking his watch again, Kain nodded and stood up, Grant standing up as well and walking forward.

Each step seemed to last an eternity as Kain and Grant continued moving forward. The park slowly morphed into a street, then into a mansion, and then to its front door.

Grant cautiously knocked on the door as a mysterious voice called out to them. "Come in…"

Kain reached for the door, looking at Grant and nodding. "No matter what, we do this as a team. We live together, we die together."

"Pain shared is pain halved," Grant added as they stepped in.

The room seemed to have been taken out of Victorian England. The colors, the covering of every single table or chair leg… and the life-size doll standing at the foot of the stairs.

"Hello…" came the shockingly feminine voice as the doll staggered forward, taking off the mask and dress to reveal the man Kain naturally assumed _must_ be White. "You are Abel Cameron and Kain R. Heinlein, correct?"

Grant looked down at Kain with a look that screamed 'What the Hell have you gotten us into?'

Kain just stepped forward and nodded. "That's us." He extended a hand for the psycho to shake, White looking at it before shaking.

_Gloved hand… cautious boy,_ White thought, _He's heard of what I can do._ White grinned and shook it in a very dramatic manner before looking at Grant. "And you're a big one."

Grant was tempted to say 'And you're a fruity one,' but he instead just stayed quiet.

White smiled and started walking back, swinging his cane around as if he was in a Disney musical before turning around and grinning in a twisted manner.

"There's just one entrance examination," White said as he looked at both Kain and Grant, taking off his gloves to reveal his hands… the lethal weapons that could kill with a single touch. "You have to survive one strike by me, straight to the face. Only one of you has to do it."

"That's eas-" Grant started, but Kain raised up his hands.

"Never assume," Kain said. "You didn't hear about what this guy did to a Shiranui ninja. I'll handle this."

"But Kain-"

"I'll be fine. I know what I'm getting into."

"I applaud your bravado," White said, actually clapping in approval. "Are you ready?"

Kain looked at Grant, who backed up, and sighed. "Yeah."

"Good!" White said as he lunged forward, shooting out a single finger aimed straight at Kain's forehead.

Kain just stood there as White struck, grinning as a purple aura erupted around him.

White's finger stopped at the barrier… right before a barrier-covered fist plowed into White's face. As White got to his feet, he laughed in spite of a broken nose. "Smantastic!" he shouted. "You two jare inb! Welcome to Addis!"

* * *

"Next up, the joint report by Celie Vie and Emily Maturson concerning real-life secretary work," said their college professor as both Vice and Mature looked at each other.

Well, this was it… their final test. Once they gave their report… they'd have one less responsibility to worry about juggling to complicate keeping an eye on Rugal.

They both walked up to the podium, each with their own collection of notes and photographs. Snapping pictures of Rugal was damn near impossible, but at least their work could be shown.

"Our report covers a year and a half of working for a Mr. Roy Bromwell," Vice started, Mature starting up the power-point presentation. "Over that course of time, we had to arrange business meetings, taking numerous calls in short periods of time, and keeping Mr. Bromwell's account in peak condition."

The first few pictures merely showed the paperwork, which seemed to go on for an eternity. Whether Rugal seriously had _that_ much work that needed to be done, Vice and Mature had no clue. Not that it really mattered, investigations were about going through the motions of being what you claimed to be.

"We also had to work with two other secretaries here," continued Mature as two others came into view on the projector. The first had short red hair combed up… with a prosthetic eye _exactly_ like Rugal's while the other had black hair slightly longer that had been let down. Both were wearing stylish black business suits, but obviously perturbed at the photos being taken. "Their names are Ana, the red-head, and Hermione, the other one." Mature rolled her eyes as several of the boys leaned forward to get a better look at them, and the former Orochi-powered killing machine switched over to the next couple of pictures, audible groans being heard.

"Yeah yeah," Vice said sarcastically, "Sucks to be you."

The report wasn't anything hard, at least compared to maintaining your cover while working for a madman and weapons dealer.

After nailing a near-perfect score on the report, Vice and Mature felt relieved as they sighed almost in perfect unison, heading back to their dorms to finish packing up and head back home until their next round of working for Rugal.

They didn't expect to see Leona tied up in their room, Rugal holding her by the neck and looking at the two with pure hatred.

"So you _do_ have a connection with the Ikaris!" Rugal growled, right before Vice and Mature laughed.

"Didn't get the voice right, Chizuru," Leona groaned as she effortlessly broke free from the bindings as the image of Rugal morphed and faded to reveal Chizuru just standing there in casual clothes. "But I guess it really doesn't matter."

The four friends had decided to at least have a celebratory "girls-night-out", which could be summed up as discussing each other's lives, hitting a few clubs, and even a few hours at an arcade… to which Chizuru dominated at Dance Dance Revolution. Biker chick, she was to an extreme… but she was just as skilled at actual dancing as well.

Of course, after playing a few shooting games that had been deemed "Impossible" to get perfects on, Leona proved that it was not a smart idea in arcade games that you could reload by simply shooting off-screen. Leona's Ikari training showed just how accurate she could be, and after beating "House of the Dead 3" without taking a single hit, she almost felt inclined to blow the imaginary smoke off the barrel of the toy shotgun.

Vice and Mature, however, competed against each other in a game nobody really expected two attractive women to ever take a step towards: the various hard-core racing games. They were practically evenly matched, and the glint of Orochi ferocity could almost be seen in their eyes as the blasted past the competition, their only true competition was each other.

Of course, it was all about the game-faces, and a few hours later, Vice, Mature, Chizuru, and Leona were laughing and kicking back at a campus coffee shop.

"I have to tell you," Leona said happily, "Just relaxing and being around people my own age for fun is… perfect. Don't get me wrong, working with the Ikari Warriors is something I like doing, I like it a lot. But sometimes it's nice to just talk with good friends about whatever."

"Definitely," Vice added, raising a coffee-cup in triumph. "To good friends that'll stick together."

"To good friends," the others said, clinking the cups and downing the contents in one gulp.

And then screaming out in agony.

There was a reason the cups had the word "Hot" on them.

* * *

"You not going to do anything stupid?" Lilly asked Billy as they both sat in the terminal, waiting for Joe.

"What stupid thing _would_ I do?" Billy answered, raising his hands up. Lilly took that as a promise as Joe stepped out of the plane, for once wearing more than just basic boxer shorts. Billy chanced a glance over at Lilly and then shot up the cardboard sign saying 'Hair Job'.

Needless to say, Joe charged at Billy, who ran away laughing all the while.

"My big brother William," Lilly groaned. "Can't live with him…" As Joe rounded a turn, Billy's new three-section-staff lashed out, beaning him in the forehead, "Can't leave him to his own devices."

A/N: Wow. I didn't think I could pull off a laid-back chapter… but somehow I did it! At least I _think_ it's laid back. Anyways, expect the King of Fighters '94 to start up in a chapter or two.

P.S. Until then, if anyone wants to give me ideas on couples that I haven't thought up yet, feel free to post. They can be shonen-ai, shoujo-ai, or straight guy/girl, I don't really care. Provided you give a good explanation, I might throw it in. Some people's relations (such as Kyo, Shingo, Goenitz, Lilly, K', etc.) I've already got planned out, but there's still a lot I haven't figured, such as the Ikaris (Ralf and Clark are WAY too old for Whip and Leona, dammit!) Benimaru (yes, Beni-kun, I can hear the gears turning in your head as you're reading this), and most of the cast from Maximum Impact.


	20. Rugal's Tournament

A/N: Well, after that nice little break from the action, it's time to get down to business! I don't own this.

P.S. God! I had no idea getting to K's intro would take so damn long!

The doors flung open to the bedroom as the twelve-year-old Kenneth Dashel ran into his sister's room, crying as noises came from downstairs… gunshots.

"Sarah…" he sobbed as he hugged his big sister, "There are bad people downstairs… they killed Mom and Dad… they're…"

He stopped, realizing Sarah hadn't moved at all or said anything. He scrambled over to the lamp and flicked it on. His sister was dead too…

Kenneth just cried there. There was nothing else he could do. He didn't know what was going on, why his family had been killed… anything.

A cold hand fell on his shoulder, and he looked up to see a tall man with dark brown hair and an equally dark mustache. Blood soaked his black cape.

"Your sister is fine. She's just resting."

"But she's dead!" Kenneth shouted, right before a syringe slammed into the back of his neck and fell into Clone Zero's hands.

_I can't believe Igniz said _this _one was the one we wanted… well… he'll have a few surprises in store soon enough…_ He looked over at one of the assassins. "You there. Get some of her…" he motioned to the dead girl, "cells. He's not going to cooperate unless he has a familiar face."

"Yessir!"

* * *

"So…. Rugal… I believe there is still my fee in question," said a well-dressed man as Rugal watched the various teams fraternize from a one-way window high above the groups, Ana and Hermione sitting next to him more out of affection than traditional employer-employee.

Rugal grinned and looked up, "Wyler, I have yet to see if I got what my money's worth yet. What do you think about this, Saisyu?" Rugal called out to figure standing just behind the window, looking at all the entrants, his eyes pausing on Kyo for a moment before moving along. "No answer?"

"We have a problem, master," Saisyu said as Rugal sat up.

"Oh?" Rugal asked, wondering what could be the matter.

"Some of the teams in question might be able to defeat in you battle… particular individuals alone would be enough." Saisyu pointed at the infamous Takuma Sakazaki and also a man wearing a white suit and an eyepatch who sitting away from the others. "There are also some up-and-coming fighters…" this time Saisyu pointed to Lilly (who was there to root for her brother and Joe), Kyo, Athena, Billy, Ryo, Robert, and King, "That could be a threat if given time to train further."

Rugal grinned, ignoring the statement's implication at his lack of strength. After all, that's what Orochi power was for. "Thank you, Saisyu. Ana? Hermione? Please compensate Wyler for his services."

They both nodded, each handing the drug lord a briefcase. Wyler grinned, handed one to his own assistant -a dark-tanned woman with a scimitar- and opened the other. After checking to make sure one of the bundles was authentic American dollars, Wyler nodded again and walked out.

Rugal, however, was looking at the tournament brackets, calculating how to match up the teams so that the appropriate group would face him in the end.

His eyes drifted over to Saisyu… that fool had thought he could stop him… only to fall victim to what Vice and Mature called "Orochi" power. And with regular druggings, supplied by Wyler, Rugal had a perfect specimen to use to gauge the strength of each team.

* * *

"Think you'll have any trouble?" Lilly asked as she seized up the various teams around them. There were some familiar faces and some ones she hadn't seen before.

Billy shook his head. "Outside of the rounds, nah. Shiranui loses her teammates if she does anything stupid and Kaphwan isn't here-"

"Billy," Joe said as he motioned to the doors, seeing the previously mentioned Korean step into the room accompanied by a man with long, silvery hair. After that in the procession came the biggest, _fattest_ man everyone in the room ever saw. To finish off the Korean group was a short and skinny man with sunglasses and claws on his back.

Billy looked over at his sister, wondering if bringing her along had been such a good idea. _Get those thoughts out of your head_, he thought,_ she's a fighter too, getting better every year. You can't protect her forever; besides, you don't really even _need _to. Hell… the day might come where she'll be protecting Joe_.

Kim looked at Team Fatal Fury before walking over to Billy, a stern look on his face. "Kane."

"Kaphwan," Billy answered. "So what's with the group?"

Kim looked at Mary and snorted. "Southtown police again working with Geese Howard's bodyguard? Predicable. I decided to take the reforming these two into my own hands. My friend over there, Jhun Hoon, is just here to see what I can do."

"They don't look like much," Joe called over from another table.

"You want to start something, kickboxer?" Kim asked as he took an offensive step towards Higashi, stopping as somebody was making an announcement.

They turned to see Hermione standing there with a small box in her hands. "Attention teams of the King of Fighters '94… if you wouldn't mind, we would like to start the tournament now. The rules, as you know, involve team play, although with a few twists. The first round will consist of straight up elimination."

"Which of course will be Kyokugen," Ryo said while flexing his arm.

"No way, man!" shouted another voice, the various teams looking over to see the USA Sports team, seeing the basketball player 'Lucky Glauber' pointing straight up at the sky. "The USA team is going straight to the TOPPPPPPPP!"

The other teams, in utter shock and the loudness of the USA team's expressions (and outfits too), all but exchanged a telepathic conversation.

_No matter what…_ one half of the other seven teams thought, _we make theses guys _never_ come back. Agreed?_

_Agreed_. Thought the other half.

"Anyways," Hermione said as she rolled her eyes over the group, remembering the bracket settings Rugal had already rigged, "If each team-captain would please step up when called for, we can set up the matches. There are four pairs of balls in here, and the teams that pull the matching numbers fight each other. Then the winner from bracket 1 fights the winner from bracket 2, and so-forth. First is the 'Psycho Soldiers', please."

Athena, the youngest competitor there, stood up bravely, reaching in to the box and pulling out a ball with a '1' on it.

Then came Kyokugen, where Ryo ended up with a '4'. Team Japan and Team Ikari both got '3's, USA got the other '1', and the King looked first at the '4' in her hand and then at Ryo's.

Billy and Kim shot lethal glances at each other… knowing they both were set for Bracket 2.

The King of Fighters '94 was on.

"Now if you would all use the elevators to go to your respective floors, we can start the matches."

* * *

Sie breathed easy as Team Psycho Soldier stood in the elevator as it glid up to the first floor. This fight would be a good chance for him to show off to Chin and Athena… and those sportsmen didn't look too tough.

As the elevator opened, Team USA was already there, Lucky dribbling his basketball and grinning. The others seemed far more silent, although the other African American, Heavy D! had tossed off his jacket to reveal the eagle on his back, flexing his muscles all the while.

"So who's up first?" asked the third, the football player Brian Battler. He cracked his knuckles as his two friends stepped back, wondering which one of these losers would be beaten first.

Athena and Sie both stepped forward, only to be stopped by their master, who in spite of his drunk stupor seemed as willing as ever to fight.

"Jhust… shleeve dish…" he muttered, not even managing to finish.

Battler, Heavy, and Lucky all burst out laughing as Athena and Sie stepped aside, Brian even tossing off his padding. The laughter grew even louder as Chin brandished one of the gourds in his collection.

Lucky and Heavy didn't expect to see it be spun with blinding speed, and Brian suddenly felt a _lot_ more nervous.

* * *

_Sandra… Clara…_ Heidern thought as he clenched his fists, looking at Ralf and Clark and silently sighing as he saw they too were dead serious, _I'll kill Rugal myself. I promise you that. And I'll protect Leona… it won't bring you back, but I owe it to you to at least live a life beyond killing._

They stepped out into the bare fighting arena, seeing Goro Daimon ready in a Judo stance already. Ralf and Clark looked at Heidern, who closed his eye and focused.

"Clark," he said, "Match grappling with grappling."

"Gladly," the mercenary said as he stepped out. "Ready?"

Goro nodded. "Yes."

* * *

"So what's the game plan?" Lilly asked as Joe, Mary, and Billy all breathed slowly, getting their game-faces on.

Joe grinned. "I'll handle whoever they send first, and then Mary will go next, and we'll save Billy so he can kick Mr. Justice Fighter's ass."

"Thanks," Billy said, "It means a lot to me."

"Just do a good job out there," Lilly said while once again smiling in that sweet and sincere matter.

The elevator doors slid open, and Team Korea was ready to fight too, the short Choi Bounge doing some light stretching in the middle of the room.

"You're going down, shorty!" Joe said as he pointed at the Freddy Kruger look-alike.

* * *

_Why in God's name do I have to fight _King _of all people!_ Ryo thought as almost identical thoughts went through Robert's head, although the name was changed from 'King' to 'Yuri'.

But that didn't matter, because Takuma Sakazaki just let out a loud laugh and flexed his muscles. "Don't worry you two… I've got this all planned out!"

"Master, what are you talking about?" Robert asked. "You're really not going to beat up your own daughter, are you?"

Takuma shook his head. "No, and I'm not going to beat up the woman you should at least _kiss_, once and awhile, Ryo."

"Then what, Dad?" Ryo asked, a vein throbbing on his forehead the cheap shot his father had said.

Ryo and Robert were quite sure if the laughter they heard from their father was reminiscent of Geese Howard.

* * *

Choi cackled sadistically as one of his claws left a number of horrid incisions on Joe's chest as Team Fatal Fury could only stand and watch.

_Goddammit!_ Joe thought as he kicked the little bastard away, clenching his fists as he got to his feet. The injuries looked much worse than they actually were, but Joe couldn't help but feel sorry that his friends… and Billy… had to see him like this. He had been just thrown out in the past tournament due to Shiranui and her girlfriend… not this time!

Choi all but flew through the air at Higashi as Kim and Jhun Hoon stood back, watching to see Choi's next attack.

They hadn't expected Joe to channel up the energy for a Screw Upper without any telltale signs and use the little man's negligible weight against him.

"Go Joe!" Lilly shouted as her boyfriend tackled the criminal and let loose a flurry of TNT Punches at Choi's head, breaking his sunglasses and sending Choi flying into the window next to Chang.

Joe grinned before falling down onto one knee and wincing. _Damn… the bugger's attacks must've hit harder than I thought… and that split-second Screw Upper didn't help things much either…_ He looked up just in time to see Chang slam his iron ball right into Joe's face. Joe collapsed and didn't get up.

"So much for your boyfriend," Chang shouted out as he pointed at Lilly and laughed, not noticing the cheerleader-ish enthusiasm being thrown aside for clenched fists and a faint, garnet-red aura around the Englishwoman.

Mary threw a hand out in front of Lilly however, with a look on her face that told the younger woman 'He won't get away with that.' Lilly nodded and the aura faded away again.

"You're a pretty little lady," Chang laughed as he shined his iron ball, watching Mary step in front of him.

"Shove it, fat bastard," Mary shot back before she charged.

* * *

Heavy D! wiped the blood from the side of his face as he staggered back. This was embarrassing.

Lucky and Brian were sprawled out on the floor, unconscious practically in heaps… and he wasn't that much better. That old man hit like a total _bitch!_ The Psychos were still on their first fighter… and Heavy knew he was running out of steam.

"Well? How 'bout it, lil' lady…" Chin muttered as he swaggered around. "Whant anoter beating?"

"Just shut up, old man!" Heavy shouted as he struck at Chin again, the older man gracefully bending around the strike, ducking another jab, and then shooting his gourd up into Heavy's jaw and ending the threat of the USA Sports Team as the boxer fell down unconscious.

Athena and Sie were dumbstruck as Chin suddenly uprighted himself, turned around, and burped. "Onto round two, no?" Chin asked, completely sober.

"Oh, yes," Athena said as she bowed.

Sie quickly followed suit and grinned. Next round he'd strut his stuff and impress Athena for sure!

* * *

Goro and Clark staggered away from each other, completely exhausted from the abuse they inflicted on each other. Heidern hadn't expected the match to be so even, but they had only lost as much as Team Japan had. "Kusanagi? Willing to call it a draw?"

Kyo sighed. "Sure…" he then stepped up to fight next. "Well? Who's up?"

Heidern closed his eyes and let his strategic mind go to work. No… the time wasn't right for him yet. "Ralf… you're up."

* * *

Mary's struggles against Chang could be summed up as the battle between speed and endurance. Chang could barely lay even a fat, greasy finger on her, yet every attempted throw or grapple either didn't work in her head or in real life.

"You've done a good job," Jhun Hoon said as Kim smiled. Chang would defeat Mary soon enough, and then Kane would exhaust himself against Chang as well, leaving Kim the opportunity to demolish Geese's bodyguard in a way even less merciful than Geese's beating of him.

"Thank you… I did my best," Kim answered. Watching his own reformed fighter defeat one of Southtown's finest made the humiliation of Team Fatal Fury even greater…

Until Chang struck out a bit too far and Mary dodged, angling a kick into the back of Chang's neck. Momentum took hold, and Chang fell to the ground, where Mary decided to just resort to stomping her feet into Chang's head.

That was, until Kim's foot shot out and slammed into Mary, sending the American to the ground as well.

"Hey, what the hell!" Billy shouted as he helped Mary back to her feet as Lilly, Mary, Billy, and even Jhun Hoon were shocked by the brutality.

"Chang had already lost," Kim said. "I was just stopping a pointless massacre."

Billy grit his teeth as he readied his staff. "Fine, Kim! I've been waiting a whole year to beat your Korean ass!"

A/N: Kim Kaphwan against Billy Kane… Heidern against Kyo Kusanagi… these two battles will determine the fate of the opening round of the King of Fighters '94. Can Billy's new staff match up to Kim's new brutality? Can Kyo survive getting the life sucked out of him? Find out in Final Bringer.

P.S. Man… writing the first two story arcs was nice because the casts were small… but now it's a nightmare!

Omake Time!

DAMN YOU, KISARAGI-SAN! -or- That explains it!

"Faster!" Eiji shouted as his student, the larger Jin-Fua worked his way through the various poses and stances of the Kisaragi art. "A ninja must be the symbol of cool and the epitome of stealth while at the same time being visible enough so the fanboys can oogle him!"

"Yes teacher!" Jin-Fua answered as he followed the instructions to the letter.

_Incredible_, Eiji thought as he watched his student, _the epitome of everything ninja…_

A sound caused Eiji to turn. Something was wrong here… very wrong.

_My god…_ Eiji thought as he opened the door of his dojo and looked out. _How the hell did they find me?_

"LOOK! IT'S STRIDER HIRYU!"

"Dammit!" Eiji swore as he looked around. They'd be on him in a second, and unless he had some sort of distraction, he was doomed to being buried under the horde of gamers.

As Eiji looked at his wonderful student, an evil thought occurred in his mind.

"Hey, Jin-Fua. I have a task you must do and not question me whatsoever in." Eiji had only a few minutes if he was lucky… but luck was on his side that day.

"What is it, Kisaragi-san?" Jin-Fua asked. He suddenly got one of Eiji's spare outfits thrown at him.

"You want to be a master ninja? Good. Then suit up and walk outside and pretend you're me. And remember, running away from a mad crowd is a symbol of failure!"


	21. Final Bringer

A/N: I don't own this. You all know that. But thanks for your never-ending support!

White looked down at his laptop and furrowed his brow. There was a need for a resurgence of gangs in Southtown, but his master had required that a newcomer to Addis had to take the reigns of the operation so Addis itself could not be connected to it. Kain and Grant were tempting… but the Heinleins and their friends were too well known. Especially with all the buzz still about Geese Howard managing to fake his own death for a goddamn ten years and strolling around Southtown in plain view for four of them. If it was any consolation… Geese had left a power vacuum and the Sakazakis were too dumb to look in office buildings for the real criminals. Unfortunately, NESTS didn't fall for that.

God knew how those NESTS bastards had a knack for putting the puzzle pieces together…even with Addis's inside man… well… clone.

White was distracted by the ringing of his phone, which one of his servants had brought over to him. White nodded and picked it up.

"Ah, Zero… I was just thinking about you."

"Can it," growled the duplicate of the NESTS official. "NESTS just got the specimen for Project Kusanagi."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I am!" barked Clone Zero. "I oversaw the operation! We need to step-up Zero Cannon production ten-fold if we're going to be done anywhere near the specimen is capable of fighting!"

"Anything else?" White asked, completely unperturbed.

"Yes," Zero said, his voice calming down. "I'm sending you the bio sheet now of two men. They're rivals, always have been, always will, named Duke and Fate. I want Kain and Grant to appoint them into two new Southtown gangs and keep things quiet. Above all else, they must not know they're being toyed around with. Keep things quiet until Zero Cannon completion is near, and after I give the word, I want you to have them both stirring up trouble, distraction. NESTS has a key base in Southtown that only top officials know of, and if I don't find out where, we need the distraction until the Zero Cannon is in position to blast the whole city to rubble. In the meantime, my connections to my own organization must be kept to a minimal, so I expect you will still be able to handle the mantle of leadership?"

"Of course, Zero."

"We need NESTS taken out. That above all else."

White hung up and walked over to the plane's bar, pouring himself a cup of brandy. As he moved to take a sip, turbulence suddenly struck, and a portion of the drink splashed onto his twenty-thousand dollar tuxedo. White's face turned to an image of malice as he walked into the cockpit, looking at the pilot, an old man, and a child in the co-pilot seat. The man just looked up, his eyes widening and his mouth dropping open.

"Mr. White…" the man started, but White cut him off.

"You know the rules," White growled, taking off one of his gloves. The man knew better than try to fight back. One touch and he was dead anyways. It was a no-win situation.

If it was any consolation, White had made sure he was out of the room when the man actually burst, saving his outfit any further damage. He then walked back in and looked at the boy, who was flying as best as he could. "Smart boy, Alfred… otherwise you'd be dead now too." White smiled and then walked into his room, and opened his closet.

It was a good thing none of his dozen _really_ expensive outfits had been destroyed.

* * *

Ralf bit his lip as he tried to get to his feet again… but he couldn't. "Commander…" he tried to say, but a kick to the head from Kyo knocked him back. The pyrotechnics of an Ikari were just no much for the true flames of a Kusanagi.

Heidern sighed as he stepped forward to face the boy. Mercenary forces had few soldiers… so knowing their limits and having them back off when their lives were in danger was critical. Heidern prided himself on the fact that of every single group, the Ikari Warriors had the smallest casualty ratio. Ralf and Clark had done their jobs, they'd have plenty of time to recover, and then they could have Leona help them out if there was another tournament.

He was going to kill Rugal. And he was going to get by this eighteen-year-old to do it.

"Your team is on the ropes, geezer," Kyo taunted as his a flame appeared on the tip of his finger. He then looked over at Benimaru and grinned. "Tough luck. No fighting for you this time."

"Shove it dunce," Benimaru shot back.

"Whatever you say, femme," Kyo countered as he charged at Heidern, jumping away from a slash from the hands in time before hitting the older man with a burning fist. Heidern went with the attack, but the attack was chained to Kyo's elbow smashing into his chin and then a pair of kicks that knocked Heidern back.

Kyo was good… Heidern had to admit that. Could he actually lose this? _No… I _will_ defeat him! Him and then the last! I know I will!_

Heidern's hand chopped through the air, cutting Kyo's arm before the older man leapt into the air and grabbed Kyo's neck. It was his traditional neckbreaker move. He'd just tone it down so the boy wouldn't die.

But he never managed to even start the technique, because Kyo spun in the air, his entire body on fire and knocking Heidern back again. As the Ikari commanding officer fell to the ground, Kyo grinned as a sphere of flame was built up in his hand.

"OROCHINAGI!" Kyo shouted as he shot forward, swinging his arm and letting the fire itself sear into Heidern, knocking him back.

The attack hurt more than Heidern ever imagined… even worse than the brutal assault Rugal had inflicted on him… but that Heidern was dead… along with his family. The Heidern now fighting Kyo screamed in pain and was knocked back into the wall… but he managed to keep standing. Revenge would not let him do anything otherwise.

_What the hell?_ Kyo thought. _Not even Dad could keep standing after I would hit him with the Serpent Wave… and that would be when Dad was in prime condition too!_ Kyo shook the thoughts off, sending a stream of fire across the ground that Heidern barely failed dodging, bringing Heidern's face down to perfect level to get hit by another Orochinagi. _Alright… that got him!_

But when the smoke cleared, Goro, Kyo, Benimaru, and even Ralf and Clark were amazed to see Heidern was still standing. His outfit was horribly burned… blood and burn marks across his arms and chest… but he was still standing.

_I will not lose!_ Heidern thought as he forced his hand forward and grabbed Kyo's neck, squeezing extremely hard before a strange aura appeared around them both. "It's the end, Kusanagi!"

"THE HELL IT IS!" Kyo choked out as his aura turned bright crimson and both his hands lashed out, unleashing yet another Orochinagi that Kyo was sure would've beat the man.

But the grip didn't lessen, and Kyo could feel his strength fleeing… and seeing Heidern's body actually… _healing_ itself?

_Yuki… I'm sorry…_ Kyo thought as Heidern threw away the drained Kyo who could barely get to his knees before falling flat on his face. A single tear fell to the ground as Kyo swore out loud.

"Forget it," Goro muttered as Benimaru bravely stood up to the giant that had taken abuse that Benimaru _knew_ would've killed him twenty times over. "If Kyo couldn't-"

"Kyo couldn't even get into college so he could understand the basics of human anatomy!" Benimaru yelled back as he turned to look at his teammates, who saw tears coming down his face as well. "I _know_ I can beat him, just by the laws of biology!" He turned to Heidern as the Muay Thai fighter channeled up the electric power he had gotten in that mishap with a giant radiosphinctopragmomitor, his hair sticking straight up as Electricity would try to outdo Fire. "I don't care how you pulled that off, but I won't back down!"

Benimaru charged, getting a harsh chop to the back of the neck as Heidern slipped behind him. Heidern then tripped out Benimaru's legs, smashing the blonde's head into the ground again and again before Benimaru's hand shot up and caught Heidern's and a thousand volts of electricity coursed through the mercenary, knocking him back.

Benimaru charged again, suddenly squatting down and spinning on one hand when Heidern moved to perform the same evasive technique. This time it was Heiderin who had his legs kicked out from under him before Benimaru suddenly caught the man from falling with his legs and then kicked up, a bolt of lighting shooting down from the sky and into Heidern before kicking him away.

_I… I can't lose!_ Heidern thought as got to his feet again, Ralf and Clark earning more respect for their commanding officer with each second that passed. Nobody had ever threatened the Ikaris with this much strength… and they had never seen Heidern stand up to it. Benimaru charged again, but Heidern leapt into the air. When Benimaru moved to flip up and call upon the bolt of lighting like before, Heidern caught his enemy's legs and shot forward, grabbing onto his neck like Kyo's and grimacing.

"You fight for the right reasons," Heidern said as he grit his teeth, "But I have to win this." He put his hand to Benimaru's chest and did the same move he had done against Kyo: the life-sucking Final Bringer.

But Benimaru shook his head. "Too bad I out-thought you, then!" Benimaru grabbed forward, grabbing Heidern by the head as lightning rained from the ceiling and coursed into Heidern before Benimaru kicked him off.

_No!_ Heidern thought as he tried to move his smoldering body. _I… can't…_

"You lost," Benimaru grunted as Goro helped he and Kyo up. "Fire can't fry nerve connections, so as long as you had the heart to win, your muscles would obey you. But electricity… that's what the human body is all about. Your entire body is numb, Heidern. You're lucky your heart is still beating."

Heidern looked at the victorious Team Japan as tears fell from his one good eye. "Fine… but you promise me! You promise me you'll kill Rugal Bernstein for all the wrong he's ever committed!"

Kyo, barely able to stand on his own, broke from the group as Ralf and Clark helped their defeated commander to his feet. Kyo stuck out his hand and put it in Heidern's. "I promise you that."

Heidern grinned as his hand glowed "Then you're going… to need your energy back, right? Take it."

* * *

The battle between Kim and Billy was _not_ one of friendly rivals, as Billy immediately had his staff shoot out and knocked Kim into the wall. The Korean returned the favor by grabbing onto the chain and pulling Billy at him and bashing their heads together and then kicked Billy away. The Englishman threw his hands down to break the fall and then sprang back up, grinning.

"Here's a new trick for you, Kim!" The staff shrunk back to its original size before Billy held it by the middle and had it point to his left and right. "Socket Flame!" He immediately thrusted it forward as the two end pieces were bend back by the momentum and two jets of fire shot out of both openings.

Kim jumped over it, kicking off the wall and tackling Billy and then ruthlessly punching him, jumping away as Billy angled the staff to again shoot off the jets of flame. "New usage of your own flames?" Kim asked.

Billy nodded. "This thing can shoot out fifty yards. How do you like it."

Kim snorted. "It makes you even more pathetic. You should've devoted yourself to training your body, not making a new weapon."

"Yeah right!" Billy shouted as he charged, spinning his staff as the flames shot from the tips. Kim managed to slap them away, but caught a painful stab to the gut and was struck across the side of the head. Kim went down, but slid forward, kicking at Billy's knees and knocking him down too. A fierce axe-kick hit Billy on the shoulder as he tried to get up and he countered by ramming his staff into Kim's leg.

The two fighters rolled away as Chang and Choi cheered on their teacher, hoping it would translate into being released earlier as Joe and Mary also gave encouraging words to Billy as well.

"Your brother fights well," Jhun Hoon said to Lilly as deadly kicks and staff strikes matched each other. Just as Lilly was about to compliment Kim, Jhun Hoon added, "But working for Geese Howard is unacceptable."

Lilly then glared at Jhun Hoon, wondering if that concept she had just thought up for the Deadly Rave would work in real life on Jhun here… but it was just a theory at the moment. She had no idea how well it would actually work.

All she could do now is watch Billy and hope he would win.

Billy swung his staff again, hitting it into Kim's side and cracking a few ribs as the Korean screamed out in pain. Billy pulled the staff away for another strike to finish Kim off…

But then Kim was on him at point-blank range, stringing together a sequence of kicks aimed at Billy's arms only, dislocating both before kicking Billy back and hitting him again in the head. "Justice always wins," Kim shouted as he then landed two accurate kicks that dislocated Billy's legs and then proceeded to punch and kick his helpless foe.

"Stop it!" Mary shouted as Joe got to his feet, only to see Chang and Choi step in front of them.

"Master Kim doesn't stop against criminals…" Chang laughed, accompanied by Choi before another voice called out for Kim to stop the pointless brutality.

"Kim! Stop it or you're going to die!" Jhun Hoon shouted at his friend, who just kept attacking Billy's helpless body.

"STOP IT!" Lilly screamed… but not in the way of a girl powerless to stop an atrocity, looking at the ground with clenched fists. No… instead Kim looked up at the sound of a horrible noise as a red Ressatsu bolt shot through Chang's gigantic iron ball and caused it to shatter. Her hand shifted to point straight at Kim. "The next one goes through your head! And I swear to God, I will not feel bad if I have to beat every single one of your buddies here if I have to!"

Kim stopped, looking down at Billy's bloody body and staggered back, trying to regain his composure. "F… fine. Chang? Choi? We have a match to go to."

Jhun and Team Korea left in silence as Mary and Joe helped Billy up, resetting his joints correctly as a mixture of tears and blood fell to the ground.

"I… I'm sorry…" Billy said in between quiet sobs. He couldn't appear weak in front of his sister… and yet here he was, needing to be saved by her. "I… I tried my best."

Lilly looked at her big brother and smiled weakly as she smeared off the blood and tears. She then walked over to Billy's discarded staff and handed it to him.

"Billy…" the Hakkyokusieken master started to say, "You did better. Your staff wasn't destroyed this time. You've made progress, and nobody had to tell you to bust your butt about it."

"But I lost!" Billy cried. "I let you all down! I-"

His next complaint was silenced as Mary, without hesitating, kissed him full on the lips and then pulled away. "You'll beat him next time," she whispered.

"But what if I don't be-"

Mary put her finger to his mouth and smiled as Joe and Lilly were still shaken by Mary's actions. "It took Geese awhile to beat Terry, and he suffered a bad loss too. But he had something important to fight for, and he managed to beat Terry on after losing." She then kissed him again, this time softer. "And now you've got another reason to beat Kim too."

Billy smiled at Mary and nodded. He was certainly lucky to have somebody like this to support him before somebody else would've swooped in and taken her instead. "Here. Take it," Billy said as he handed Lilly his staff and staggered to the elevator to leave.

"Billy… where are you going?" Joe asked as he ran up to his friend's side, only to be grabbed and looking Billy straight in the eye.

"You take care of my sister, Higashi!" he said before looking at Lilly and then Mary. "Thanks… but I've got to not be reliant on my staff. Kim might be right about that. So I'm going to travel around a bit… try to find myself." Billy then grinned and stuck out a thumbs-up. "Keep my staff in good shape because I'll be back for it! Expect to see me in three months!" He then walked down to the elevator, and rode it down alone.

* * *

Ryo and Robert both gulped as they looked at their opponents, King and Yuri respectively. Takuma's 'grand idea' was to have them fight each other… much to their displeasure.

"I am _so_ going to kill Dad for this," Yuri and Ryo said in perfect unison as Robert replaced 'Dad' with 'Master' and King replaced it with 'Takuma'.

But the head of the Sakazaki household was busy staring down Mai, glaring with ferocity. "I heard your grandfather was going to try to kill me last year," he said as Mai matched his hatred.

"I don't want to talk about it, old man," she spat.

The two teams charged, each member ready for battle.

A/N: Kim Kaphwan has won the right to battle the Psycho Soldiers… but fighting against psychics is a LOT harder than conventional fighters, as he finds out. Meanwhile, Ryo must once again battle his would-be girlfriend… but will it be a friendly match, or one with deep-seated frustrations breaking out? Find out in Lover's Quarrel.


	22. Lover's Quarrel

A/N: Well… that was a VERY hard chapter for me to write, just with Billy-

Billy: WHAT THE HELL YOU BLOODY BASTARD! I'M ONE OF YOUR FAVORITE GAME CHARACTERS OF ALL TIME AND YOU MAKE ME LOSE TO KAPHWAN… AGAIN!

LSN: Yeah, but it builds good drama!

Billy: Good drama? I FIND OUT A GIRL LIKES ME AND HAVE TO LEAVE MY SISTER IN THE CARE OF SOME STUPID KICKBOXER THAT NEVER WORE ANYTHING EXCEPT BOXER SHORTS IN HIS WHOLE LIFE!

LSN: …okay, okay. At the very least you get to go to Hong Kong and train with Hon-Fu and beat up some bad guys without a staff while simultaneously realizing how you can show Kim up once and for all.

Billy: …fine. That's better. But you should've marked for spoilers, dammit!

LSN: Watch it, or I'll throw you in an orgy with Ash, White, and the Mars People.

Disclaimer: You know the deal.

Billy: You'll never get away with this! I'll crawl out of your computer and stick my staff so high up your ass you'll cough it out!

LSN: Yeah. But Lilly has it at the moment.

Billy: DAMMIT!

* * *

The sounds of intense impacts echoed in the room as King and Yuri succeeded in the most part of matching the strength of their respective love-interests.

Mai, on the other hand, had never had the chance to face off against one of the few people to defeat Geese Howard in battle and get away with it.

She was wishing her grandfather _had_ killed the arrogant bastard last year too.

"How many fans to you have in there?" Takuma asked as Mai struck with another of her iron fans, only to have it split in half with a well-angled punch, forcing Mai to take out another.

"Plenty," she growled, "Wanna see the collection?" A jab to the head caused her to stagger back, cursing Takuma's cockiness and insults. A Koah-Ken was barely evaded as she jumped in the air, quickly springing against the side of the wall and launching herself at Takuma. The attack hit dead-on, knocking the Kyokugenryu fighter away a small bit before Mai spun on her landing, shooting her elbow out now and knocking Takuma into the wall. _Now's my chance!_ Mai thought as Takuma readied himself for another Shiranui technique, looking confused as Mai stood there.

_What the?_ Takuma thought as a pillar of fire enveloped Mai and then broke into four burning effigies of the Shiranui that surrounded her. _Doesn't look _too_ problematic…_ He charged, only to be driven back by the tremendous heat.

"Grapplers and karate masters beware," Mai said as she grinned sadistically, "I wouldn't make the same mistake I made against Ryan last year."

Takuma looked down at the ground and chuckled. "I know… you made a different one.

"What?"

Takuma brought his arms to his chest and then thrust them out. "Hoah-Shi-Koh-Ken!"

Mai's eyes went wide as she threw up her hands in a pitiful means of protection, her focus on the spinning fire copies destroyed. _ I can't believe I gave him the time for…_ she hesitantly looked up, seeing no gigantic, Geese Howard-crushing energy blast coming at her. _What?_

Takuma just charged at the confused Mai and gave her a nice Ryuko Ranbu combo beating, finally kicking her unconscious body to the ground before looking at Ryo and Robert. _Now I can just sit back and enjoy the fights…_ he thought.

Yuri, however, was slowly showing signs of weakening against Robert's kick-oriented assault.

It is important at the moment to elaborate on part of the multi-faceted fighting style of Kyokugen karate, which can be broken down into several sub-styles. While Yuri and Robert where technically in the same fighting school, they had chosen very different forms to practice, Robert's being the "Ryugeki" style, or "Beating the Dragon" style, which focused on kicks and also including elements of Muay Thai and Taekwando. On the other hand, Yuri's style, "Raiou" (Lightning Sparkle), was a more defensive-oriented genre of the art. Thus they both had techniques the other did not, making it a match that came down to who had the stronger fireball. Yuri's defensive style of fighting worked well against Robert's attacks, but there was only so many attacks you could block or counter before a few slipped in… every fighter knew that.

Robert jumped aside to dodge a Koah-Ken before advancing with a set of flying kicks, being knocked back by a barrier Yuri managed to throw up.

"Haoh-Sho-Koh-Ken!" Yuri yelled as her pink-tinted version of the projectile barreled into Robert as he threw up his own defenses, praying he'd be able to make his next attack count.

Thankfully, the Raiou version of the Haoh-Sho-Koh-Ken was not as potent as other variations, and Robert managed stay on his feet as the attack continued pressuring him. Slowly, Robert's blocking hands slid closer to his chest and as soon as Yuri's attack finally began to weaken…

Robert fired off his own blast, catching Yuri by surprise and knocking her down. As he walked over to his girlfriend, he blushed as he saw the white coat-like part of her gi had been blown off and leaving only the blue part underneath, but Yuri wasn't complaining as she sat up. "Enjoying the view, Robert?" she asked as he helped her up. She then happily hugged him and grinned. "Good match."

"Yeah…" his eyes strayed over to Ryo and King, who were still going at it, seemingly getting more and more hostile towards each other with every punch or kick traded.

While Takuma's and Robert's fights had been easy to call after the first few minutes, King and Ryo were perfectly matched, flurries of punches and kicks being blocked and evaded by both of them and the rapid-fire "Double Strike" projectile actually managing to outright negate Ryo's own supercharged projectile. Any competitor of the tournament… even _Terry_ would've been shocked at the ferocity that Ryo and King showed towards each other.

Ryo had to swing both arms up to block a fierce kick from King, only for her to spin and flip, rotating her leg so it caught his arms on the inside of her knee. Ryo, temporarily "disarmed" was struck in the head with King's other leg. Ryo quickly countered as best he could, using the fact that King was stuck where she was to his advantage by falling to the ground and then kicking _her_ in the back of the head and then kneeing her back.

As they struggled to overpower each other on the ground, King chuckled quietly underneath the grunts of exertion. "Enjoying our fight?"

Ryo answered while smiling, "Of course." He finally managed to get King away from him, rubbing his forearms to reestablish circulation. _She's good… damn good…_

"Ryo, beat your soon-to-be wife so we can get to the next round!" Takuma shouted, causing both fighters to shoot dirty looks at him. "I said _soon_ to be! Seriously, I'm just looking out for Kyokugen's futu-GAH!"

"Second time Ryo's attacked Dad… and this time he _knew_ who he was attacking," Yuri groaned as King and Ryo had taken a handful of seconds out of their match to fling a few projectiles at Takuma.

"That isn't genetic, is it? I mean, not _all _Sakazakis attack their fathers, right?" Robert asked nervously. Yuri just looked at him smugly for a moment with a look saying 'Our spawn will consume you, Garcia, and I will be Queen Mother of the Hive'.

Refocused on the fight, King jumped away from Ryo's Zanretsuken punch flurry, leaping high in the air and then shooting down, knocking Ryo in the face with a flurry of mid-air kicks before leaping back up to get away from Ryo's counter before coming down for another flurry which sent the orange gi-wearing fighter sliding on the ground away.

"You actually can stand up," King commented as Ryo got to his feet, "I really have to commend you on that. Way back in 1980 when I did that to Mr. Big he was staggering around like a drunk after the first kick."

"Kyokugenryu means 'Extreme Style'," Ryo said as he wiped the blood from his mouth. "I wouldn't be an expert if I couldn't stand after getting a concussion, could I?"

King laughed happily while brushing a few strand of hair out of her eyes. "And to think some women find you unrefined and not able to make a joke to save your life." She charged again, sliding under a Koah-Ken, but getting kneed in the chest and then kicked away into the wall, another Koah-Ken causing her to crumple down, beat.

Ryo walked over to King and helped her up, not expecting her to be smirking. "What? No shirt-ripping super this time?" she asked as Yuri helped Mai to the elevator back down as Robert and Takuma got ready to move to the next match.

"Uh… I…" Ryo stuttered before smiling and setting his words straight. "I felt we could afford not to redo that fiasco."

King sighed and poked Ryo in the head once before walking away. "Whatever… I need to get back to my bar and make sure Duck hasn't got it bankrupt. See you around?"

"Sure. I'll come in for a drink sometime."

* * *

Heidern was dead silent, as were Ralf and Clark, as the elevator quietly slid back down to the ground level. If anything, he trusted Kyo would beat Rugal and if not… well if he couldn't beat two fighters like that, then perhaps his personal training regime needed to become even more brutal…

The doors slid open, and Heidern, Ralf, and Clark were taken aback to see two more of Rugal's secretaries standing in front of them… the blonde-haired one holding a portfolio.

"Yes?" he asked, wondering what this was all about.

"We know how Leona would feel if you came back empty handed," said the brown-haired one. "So we decided to give you something we're sure you'd put to good use."

_Leona!_ Thought all three Ikaris as Heidern grabbed both Vice and Mature by their suit collars. "What have you done with her?" he growled.

"Well," Vice muttered, "We _did_ go to Dave and Buster's once with her and Kagura but…"

"What?" Heidern said as he loosened his grip.

Mature handed Ralf the documents and sighed. "Can't say much now… but you might like to read what's in there."

They turned and left, leaving the three mercenaries confused. Ralf opened the manila packet and looked at them.

"Looks like they're on our side…" he said as he handed Heidern and Clark a few photographs, showing those two secretaries with Leona and another woman with long black hair in an arcade posing for a camera.

"Not faked," Clark commented as Ralf handed them both several other papers, discussing letters, the source of Rugal's power, essentially everything that Vice and Mature knew about it all. After that was a letter from Leona that verified everything they said.

Heidern's focus, however, was on the last article…

"What is it?"

Heidern looked at the paper and then started moving towards the exit. "GPS coordinates. What else?"

* * *

"So…" Sie said as he looked at Team Korea, sweating slightly. "How are we going to do this?"

A video screen suddenly turned on as the two groups turned to it.

"Greetings, Teams Psycho Soldier and Korea for winning your first matches," said Ana as she sat behind a desk. "In spite of the fact you both have three members per team, Mr. Bernstein has decided something different for the semifinal match… namely tag-team matches. This will be a fight between two members of each team, both able to switch-out with a simple hand-tag."

A series of plates generated, forming an octagonal ring around both Athena and Kim. Sie proudly stepped up to fight with Athena this time, and Kim looked at his own two allies.

"Choi…" Kim said as he pointed to the short fighter, causing him to flinch. "Chang's ball was shattered by Kane's sister…"

"Yes, master," Choi groaned as he took up his position too.

Kim then turned back to Athena and grinned. "Little girls should leave fighting for justice to trained fighters."

"I _am_ a trained fighter," Athena said as she dropped into a stance and Kim did the same. "Besides… you have _no_ idea what I pulled off before I was even ten."

"Sure," Kim said as he charged, arcing a foot over Athena's head to strike down… only to be stopped by Athena's hands that had been thrust up. Normally this wasn't too much of a shock…

But Kim had stopped in mid-air, and Athena then jumped up, a orange aura emanating from her hand that smashed into Kim's chin and sent him back to his side of the ring._ They're no ordinary fighters… and they fight dirtier than Billy did!_ Kim thought as he looked over at Choi, slapping his hand. "Get out there and test out their abilities. Once I know what they can do, I'll fill in for you."

Choi, breathing a bit uneasy, regained his composure as he sprang in to replace Kim, jumping forward and slashing at Athena with his claws, the girl unable to react fast enough to psychically block them. Instead, Athena side-stepped, unfortunately getting a cut on her open arm as she rolled away from the slashing maniac.

"Athena!" Sie shouted as the team captain found herself away from Sie to jump in for her.

"You've handled much worse before, Athena!" Chin yelled. "And he has to get close to you, too!"

Sure enough, Choi spun like a top into the air, kicking up a storm to block Athena from getting to her own side, but he was nowhere near close to actually hurt her, and an epiphany came to the girl. Psychic energy again flowed into her hand, generating the "Psycho Ball." Athena then flung it into the ground at an angle, smiling as it knocked into Choi up in the air and sent him falling. Athena then ran straight at him, calling up all the strength she had as two blue rings appeared and oscillated around her, smashing into Choi as Athena sent off a flurry of kicks, finishing with one to the head that sent Choi out of the arena.

Kim furrowed his brow as he stepped in. This would be hard… but now he knew what at least Athena could do… and the boy probably wasn't as powerful. Before Athena could turn around, Kim kicked her in the gut, knocking her down and flying to the edge of the arena. As the purple-haired girl looked up, she saw Sie's hand sticking out for her.

"You get better and I'll stall…" he said. Athena nodded and slapped his hand, letting her admirer take her place.

"Let me guess… psychic powers too?" Kim snorted as he performed the same opening move as he had tried on Athena, stopping just as Sie had thrown up his own hands in a similar blocking motion and then dropping down and kicking Sie in the head.

Sie bent with the strike, grimacing from the pain, but also from something he knew that Kim didn't. "Not just that… I do kicks."

Kim's eyes went wide as Sie's leg lashed out, tripping up the Taekwando master and then kicking him away flat on his face. He turned and immediately tagged Athena back… after all he knew his place.

As soon as Kim turned around, he saw Athena already in front of him, energy crackling from her body… her arm _completely _healed, and a gigantic Psycho Ball shooting straight at him. Kim dodged to the side… but suddenly pain flared up in his side.

_Billy's last strike!_ Kim thought in horror as the attack hit dead-on. Jhun Hoon, Chang, and Choi were dead silent as Kim struggled to stay standing… but Athena had a power Kim knew not of, although Geese or Goenitz would've recognized and put a name on.

Kim fell to the ground, defeated as much by Athena's attack as Billy's last laugh on his archenemy.

* * *

"So who fights?" Ryo asked his father as the elder Sakazaki looked at Team Japan's line-up for their semi-final match.

Takuma grinned and looked at Ryo. "Well, considering you hate me so much as to attack your own father… I think you two should make do without my earthshaking power."

Ryo was tempted to yell out 'But Daaaahhhd!' in the manner like a particular portly little boy from South Park, Colorado would say the same thing to his mother (who incidentally was his genetic father, oddly enough) but decided _not_ act like Eric Cartman, stead stepping up to fight Kyo Kusanagi.

"Fine. Robert? I'll go up first."

A/N: Fight! Ryo and Robert face their toughest fight yet against two fighters who are their near-equals in battle… who will win the right to face the Psycho Soldiers in the finale? Can Kyokugenryu match the Crimson Flames of the Kusanagis… or will Kyo get the chance to fight the woman that has a crush on him? Find out in Tiger in the Flames.


	23. Tiger in the Flames

Billy: WHAT THE HELL? I CAN'T BEAT KIM BUT TWO HIGH SCHOOLERS CAN?

LSN: Shut your mouth, Kane… or else I might just make that orgy scene include some other creepy crawlies too. Anyways… as of July 10th, I found out I got a 4 on my AP History test AND also ironed out all but the last tournament in the storyline, KoF 2009. And if SNK manages to finish the Ash story ahead of time, well, I'll revise my evil scheme.

Billy: HOW ABOUT YOU REVISE THE CHAPTER WHERE I LOSE TO KIM!

Lilly: Billy! You should be thanking LSN for letting me be more than just a trophy for Joe to try to take from you!

Billy: But you have to wait until 2001 to enter the King of Fighters!

Lilly: There's still Fatal Fury and Real Bout, doofus! Those aren't tournaments, so I don't give a !&# if I'll be fighting beside Geese anyways!

Disclaimer: Don't own this… boo hoo.

* * *

Without say a single word, both Ryo and Kyo charged, orange-hued chi emanating from Ryo's fist to match Kyo's crimson flames. Almost instinctively, their legs shot out and tripped each other. Ryo moved first, slamming his hand down to stop the fall and then punch with his other, knocking Kyo away.

Kusanagi matched Sakazaki, however, as a ground flare shot out of the ground, covering Ryo for a brief second, the older fighter getting to his feet and re-estimating his chances of beating Kyo. _He's good… a bit stronger than Terry was when I fought him…_ Kyo rocketed at Ryo, kicking off with one foot as the other connected into Ryo's chin. As soon as momentum brought Kyo back down, he kicked off again, but Ryo caught his outstretched leg and threw him away, firing off a quick Koah-Ken in the process. Kyo spun to minimize damage and landed at his side of the arena, with Benimaru's outstretched hand wavering near him.

"I can win my fights without your help, Beni," Kyo answered as he ran back, slamming his fist into Ryo's foot as the latter shot forward in a flying kick assault, sheer inertia overpowering Kyo and forcing him down into a squat. Unfortunately, Kyo had expected this and then sprung up with a spin, his entire upper body catching on fire from the Kusanagi Style 100, known as the "Demon Burn" "OniYaki". Ryo was knocked up, again coated in the pseudo-fire, but shot down a pair of Koah-kens to keep Kyo from pressing the offensive.

In the meantime, Goro Daimon decided to walk over to the middle of the sidelines and watch along with Takuma merely as a spectator.

"So your Japan's best Judo fighter, eh?" Takuma asked, enjoying the fight and not worrying about who would win or lose.

"Best at Judo, but I'm quite a bit behind those two," Goro answered, pointing to Benimaru and Kyo. "What about you? Why aren't you fighting?"

Takuma winced as Ryo and Kyo exchanged the brutal force of a Haoh-Sho-Koh-Ken with that of an Orochinagi, both resorting to their teammates to cover the slack for them. "Eh… I'm getting old. I've had my time in the spotlight. I'll probably go for one more tournament and that'll be it. It's their turn to carry the torch of Kyokugenryu."

Benimaru and Robert both stepped forward, exchanging glances before charging. A fierce electric punch zoomed by Robert, the "Invincible Dragon" barely dodging it before springing back and avoiding a flip by Benimaru that had channeled down a bolt of lightning. Robert sprang up, uppercutting Benimaru away. The blonde-haired fighter landed safely however, blocking a roundhouse kick to the head and letting the excess force push him around, giving Benimaru the opportunity to kick Robert in his back and force him back. Another electric punch caught Robert in the left shoulder, and then Benimaru's knee lashed out faster than Robert imagined, hitting him in the leg. Another kick to the gut knocked the wind out of Robert and caused him to double over… giving Benimaru the perfect angle of opportunity to kick Garcia into the air with another electric flip.

"Robert!" Ryo shouted, expecting his friend to have been incapacitated by the strike, but suddenly Robert flipped in mid-air, shooting down and burying his foot into Benimaru's chest and then smashing his hands down into Benimaru's head, actually striking with the force to split Beni's hair in twain.

"Don't worry," Robert panted as he jumped away from Benimaru. "He's good… but he's just another Muay Thai fighter… nothing too serious."

Benimaru grit his teeth as his hair fell limp, resulting in a loose hairstyle as he caught his breath. _No way I'm going to be able to fight with my balance screwed up with a split-level, anyways…_"You're one to talk… you kick like a tank… but I just finished wiping the floor with a guy that could tear tanks apart."

"And I survived a scrape against Geese Howard," Robert shot back, referring to his previous King of Fighters experience in 1980. They both charged, punching each other in the sides of their face before Benimaru channeled up electricity again, shocking Robert briefly before he ducked down and fired off a point-blank Ryugekiken that kicked Benimaru back, both of them wearing each other down at almost a perfectly ratio.

Clenching his fists and brushing a few strands away from his eyes, Benimaru focused on condensing the electricity into his left hand, saving it for emergencies. He charged at Robert again, gracefully bending out of the way of a flurry of kicks and then kicking the shin of Robert's other leg to buy the time to slam his fist into Robert's face.

"RAIKOKEN!" Benimaru screamed as the electric field burst from his fist, sending even more volts than he had used again Heidern straight at Robert's face.

Robert screamed in agony, feeling every muscle in his entire face beginning to go numb…

But _unlike_ Heidern, every other part of him was still working fine. Kicking Benimaru in the crotch to knock him down, Robert brought his hands to his chest, relying on memory as his eyes closed up. His heels pincered Benimaru down and then the time was right. "HAOH-SHO-KOH-KEN!"

Benimaru screamed as the attack hit him dead-on in the back, and the world was going black… but Beni did his best for one last attack, turning up and scraping up enough strength for one last, half-backed Raikoken to hit Robert cleanly too.

When the smoke cleared, Kyo and Ryo saw their partners were both on the ground, unconscious. Takuma and Goro walked in to carry the bodies away, and it came down to who had managed to regain more strength in this final fight.

Ryo smirked as he dropped into a battle-ready position, "Ready?"

Kyo ignited a flame on the tip of his finger and then blew it out. "Yeah." Suddenly a ring of flame surrounded Ryo as Kyo charged again, forgetting any restraint of using his flames and resorting to an onslaught of never-ending heat.

Ryo wasn't fazed, however, throwing his hands up and blocking the first overhead kick and turning to the side to evade Kyo's burning punch. As soon as Kyo spun to try to elbow Ryo, the older fighter ducked and sprang up with a Zanretsuken, battering Kyo and knocking him away. As Kyo skidded to a halt, he charged again, this time flipping up in the air and smashing down again with his leg again, expecting Ryo to block it. Sure enough, Ryo repeated the same procedure as before, but Kyo's lower leg shot out under Ryo's guard, kicking him in the chest and stunning Ryo long enough for Kyo to grab him by the gi and throw him to the ground before falling on top of him so his shoulder could do a little extra damage.

Ryo blasted him off with a point-blank Koah-Ken and flipped back to his feet, catching his breath as Kyo did this same.

On the sidelines, Takuma grinned. "Wow. We're already down to the big finish now."

Smoke gradually curled away from Kyo's hands as a crimson-red aura enveloped him, quickly replaced by a bright-orange one that seemed as brilliant as she sun. The in meantime, Ryo was calling upon every reserve of strength his body had, bringing his hands close to his body and focused.

"Ready when you are," Kyo said while smirking.

"Bring it! Ryuko Ranbu!" Ryo lunged forward as Kyo struck out again with the Orochinagi, the Kyokugen fighter's fist slamming straight into the wall of flame…

A deadlock. It came down to who would give out first. Slowly pushing forward, Ryo punched again and took another step, making marginal headway against the Serpent Wave, but headway still. Kyo's eyes were wide in shock… this had never happened before. He tried to channel more force into the attack, but his eyes just couldn't be pulled away from the sight of those fists that were slowly getting closer…

_Just a few… more!_ Ryo thought as he pushed further in. He was sweating bullets… the stress of doing this was causing him to pull out all the stops and Ryo was finally discovering just how "Extreme" Kyokugen was. He took another step forward and another strike. It was like standing up to a force of nature… by all conceivable notions it should be impossible, and Ryo was starting to think it was.

_Dad…_ Ryo thought as he remembered the moment he had stopped from killing his father all those years ago in the Yuri Sakazaki incident… Even shooting at his father not to long ago had been in good humor, and he was going to win this fight… for Kyokugenryu!

_Father…_ Kyo thought as Ryo advanced again, this time the fist stopping less than a millimeter away from his face. With the kind of energy both of them had built up, if one of them suddenly gave out, they would be utterly annihilated. _I can't…_

_You are part of the Kusanagi bloodline! You cannot afford to lose!_

"You…" Ryo shouted as he pulled his fist back for one last attack. "Lose!" He shot the fist out…

And Kyo ducked it. The sudden loss of resistance threw Ryo off balance, and before he knew it, a wave of fire smothered him… every last ounce of strength in Kyo's body being forced into an all-or-nothing attack that sent Ryo flying.

The then-recovering Benimaru and Robert woke up to see Kyo on the ground, panting like a dog and Ryo smashed into the wall, not even panting at all.

Kyo looked at the Sakazaki patriarch as Takuma stood up and walked over to Ryo and got his son to his feet before walking over to Kyo. What was going to happen?

Takuma simply grinned and helped Kyo up and flashing a cocky grin. "You sure are Saisyu's son!" he said, indulging himself in a laugh. Robert staggered back over to the elevator, looking at Benimaru in a symbol of respect as Team Japan moved on to the final round. Kyokugenryu might have lost the round…

But Ryo had found just how deep his power went. And Takuma knew tournament titles were nothing.

The strength found in battle was trophy enough…

…And the Garcia Foundation could easily cover the bills back home since they wouldn't be getting the prize money.

* * *

"Hot _damn_ that was hard!" Kyo grunted as he tried to catch his breath, having to resort to Goro carrying him over his shoulder and wondering who was going to fight in the next round.

"Guess I'll have to save your flunking ass again, Kyo," Benimaru sighed, still trying to style his hair correctly again.

The elevator opened up to have Athena already standing there, with a video screen showing Rugal Bernstein already on.

"Ah, Team Japan has finally arrived," Rugal announced. "Well then, it is my pleasure to announce the final round of the King of Fighters '94 tournament, in which Teams Psycho Soldier and Japan will pit their team captains together in battle for a sudden-death match that will only be won by knocking the opponent unconscious. After the battle, the winning team shall take the elevator under the screen to the rooftop, where two of my secretaries, Vice and Mature, will fly you to the location of the final round against me."

The screen flickered out, and Benimaru and Goro were looking at Kyo, who was running on fumes at the moment.

"Oh," Athena said happily, "I'll fix that for you all." Wind suddenly kicked up in the building, and her hair was blown straight up as Kyo suddenly felt refreshed, and landed on the ground, stretching.

"Wow…" Kyo said as he felt his body for any injuries. "That was really something different, Athena!" Kyo said, looking at his body in amazement before his hands suddenly caught on fire on their own. _Wow… what was _that _about? It was like they were reacting to something… but the only thing they react to like that is somebody connected with the Oro-_

"Well I always wanted to fight you," Athena said as stretched, breaking himself out of his train of thought. "I mean, we've known each other since I was in kindergarten and you said you were pretty hot stuff too… so I guess I'd feel guilty if I didn't fight you at your finest."

Sie sighed as he propped himself against the wall, Chin walking over to him and smiling. "What's eating you, Sie?"

"She never did that for me…" Sie muttered as Kyo and Athena briefly talked to each other for a moment, Athena denying the fact she was trying to steal Kyo away from Yuki by doing him that favor, instead saying Yuki was a close friend of her too and Yuki would kill her if Kyo had been beaten around like a rag doll.

Chin sighed. "You have no idea how hard it is for that girl, Sie. She suffers from unrequited love worse than you do, because there's always a ray of hope for you. Kyo should be with Yuki… for more reasons than one…"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sie said, looking up at Chin with a confused look.

Chin shook his head and sat down, helping himself to some of the sake he had. "It's nothing."

"Well…" Kyo said, completely refreshed and looking at a just-as-strong Athena. "Shall we?"

"YOU BETTER NOT LOSE TO A GIRL, KYO!" Benimaru shouted, to which Kyo decided to return the favor.

"Hey, I've beaten guys, and if I count you… I've beaten hermaphrodites too. I'm be fine."

"HERMAPHRODITE?" Benimaru screamed as Goro dragged him away, the Muay Thai fighter kicking and screaming all the while. "You sick son of a -"

"There are kids here, you know," Goro groaned as he and Benimaru also took up positions on the sideline.

"Sorry about that… Beni can get out of control sometimes," Kyo sighed. "Now where were we?"

Athena smiled. "Go time!" She raised her hand and pointed straight up to generate a Psychoball before flinging it at Kyo. At full strength, Kyo was able to see the attack's trajectory and spring over it…

Only to get clocked in the head by a fierce uppercut by Athena. Kyo retaliated as best he could, kicking Athena with both his legs and then charging again as he landed, sending a wave of fire on the ground at her. Athena almost instantly threw up a defense that shot the flames back at Kyo, and the would-be college student barely managed to shake off the shock in time to dodge.

_She's as strong as Ryo was!_ He thought, _Maybe stronger!_ Kyo hand-sprung to the side, sending a punch at Athena, only to have her psychically block it before kicking back and connecting with the side of Kyo's head. Kyo fell to the side, but returned the favor by slamming both his fists into Athena's side, causing the girl to yelp as she was knocked away. _Alright… just give it your all!_

Athena was smiling, however, as she ducked under another punch, just to get kneed back up and slammed down again before blasting Kyo away with a Psychoball. _This kind of togetherness… Kyo, if I can't be your girlfriend… I'll still live my life as best I can. At the very least, I will be a rival, and we can have something together you and Yuki don't do… try to beat each other to death._

"You really know your stuff," Kyo said as he gathered up his strength again. Athena nodded. "Those fights you told me when you were younger don't do you justice."

"Hey, everybody gets better," Athena said as she charged, kicking Kyo's side and then hopping in that direction to move out of the way of Kyo's counter. She jabbed at his neck, but Kyo grabbed her hand and ignited his own. Athena screamed out as Kyo spun her around, tossing her to the ground and burning her with another wave of fire. He jumped down, his burning hand missing Athena by inches as the psychic girl managed to throw up another invisible wall and kick Kyo away. Making predictions about Kyo's trajectory, Athena channeled up a gigantic Psychoball and flung it at Kyo, hitting him dead on and bashing Kyo into the wall.

"Did… did I win?" Athena asked as the dust shaken up by the attack blocked her view.

"OROCHINAGI!" Kyo shouted as he came into view, blasting Athena with the burning stream again and knocking her to her knees.

Athena coughed up a small bit of blood as she sprang back up, planting her fist in Kyo's gut and then slamming both her hands down onto the top of Kyo's head before jumping away from Kyo's retaliatory strike.

"Kyo… let's make _this_ the final fight the fans will remember… more famous than Geese Howard's brawls against Bogard," Athena said as she panted. They were so far even… each good hit being returned by one just as strong.

"For the history books!" Kyo shouted back as the two charged again, crimson flames and yellow psychokinetic powers being made manifest as two gods of fighting engaged again in physical combat.

A/N: Kyo and Athena, two childhood friends now pulling out all the stops in a clash of titans! But who will advance to face Rugal Bernstein and his dreaded Orochi power? What is Vice and Mature's plans, and where do the Ikari Warriors fit into this? Stay tuned for the conclusion of the King of Fighters '94 in Genocide.


	24. Genocide

A/N: You know, after playing "Art of Fighting 3", I've realized two things. Number 1: the graphics and play control are even better than Garou's. Number 2: Every character except for Ryo, Robert, Karmen Cole, Sinclair, and Kasumi Todoh utterly suck… and Jin-Fua and Wyler only escape being forgotten about in my revision of the story due to the fact I can make them not utterly suck through a labor of agony. Every other character in that game will burn in Hell and not even be mentioned.

Lenny Creston/Roddy Birts: YOU BASTARD!

LSN: Billy… I don't have time for this. Would you care to do the honor?

Billy: Will the net me brownie points?

LSN: _Many_ brownie points.

Billy: YAY! SOCKET FLAME! (Burns Lenny and Roddy to a crisp)

LSN: Okay, disclaimer time. You know I don't own this… and by the way… Samurai Showdown is HARD WHEN YOU PLAY AS CHARLOTTE!

Billy: You're playing as a different weapon user? You better explain this, dammit!

LSN: She's a horrible poking character to use. I can out-reach Rugal with you.

Billy: That's the fanfic writer I know and love! (Sees Mary) Oh crud. Got a plane to catch to China… gotta go!

* * *

_Kyo's incredible…_ Athena thought as she barely managed to throw up another invisible wall to deflect yet another set of fast punches before retaliating. There was no holding back here… and when both her legs shot up and caused Kyo's chest to crumple in, it _hurt_.

Kyo, however, just staggered back and caught his breath. "Wow, Athena… you certainly deserve the right to be here in the final round…"

Athena smiled as she dug deep into her reserve of psychic powers. "Thanks, I train really hard at it!" She charged again, two spiraling ring of energy spinning around her. Kyo quickly sprang over them with the R.E.D Kick and his foot connected with her face, but Athena retaliated as the rings twisted and caught his leg, causing Kyo to be caught and be psychically hung upside-down in front of Athena, letting her send a flurry of punches at him before blasting him with a Psychoball.

Kyo scrambled to his feet, once again noticing his crimson flames had ignited without willing it to be. _I don't get it…_ he thought as he dodged another punch before kicking hard enough to break Athena's barriers and torch her with a YamiBarai ground wave. Athena rolled to safety, but Kyo managed to grab her by the throat and pick her up, blasting her away with another surge of fire. _My flames aren't supposed to act like this except when I'm in the presence of an Orochi-member… but Athena isn't part of that bloodline… is she?_

Silly Kyo… making assumptions is not the mark of an intelligent man.

Unfortunately for the Kusanagi hero, he had bigger things to worry about… like a supercharged Shining Crystal Bit desperation move Athena was conjuring up and then chaining into the Crystal Shot finale. "Better think of something quick, Kyo!" she shouted as she pulled back, seeing Kyo grin.

"I already did."

Just as Athena let go of her barriers in exchange for an all-out attack, another YamiBarai hit her. Kyo then sprang into action with a sequence of four kicks that knocked Athena into the air, and finally an Orochinagi that dropped Athena to the ground. When Athena looked up, Kyo held out a hand and smiled.

"Good match?" he asked.

She smiled back and let him pull her up. "Definitely! But you've still got one more left, and you'd better not lose!" Athena gave him a cheerful salute before watching Team Japan head up to the rooftop while her own team took another one down. She didn't let up her smile on the whole ride down… why would she? She had the opportunity to fight and test Kyo's skills against her own. _Have Kyo, Yuki_, she thought_, I'm content with what I've got!

* * *

_

When the elevator reached the rooftop, Kyo once again noticed his flames were acting up as he walked up to those other two secretaries, Vice and Mature.

"Something the matter with those?" Mature asked innocently as Kyo shook his head and managed to subdue the fires.

"No… nothing serious," he answered as he got into the back seat along with Goro and Benimaru.

The two secretaries got into the front seats and nodded to the pilot, who lifted off after a few moments.

* * *

"We're pulling up satellite imagery now!" Leona said over the radio as she transferred the images to Heidern, who was on his way to the Blacknoah as well, courtesy of the information Vice and Mature had so graciously given him.

_So they _were_ telling the truth…_ Clark thought as their own chopper shot through the sky towards the destination.

Almost as if reading the cap-wearing mercenary's mind, Leona's voice came over the speaker again. "They're clean… trust me on this. I'll explain everything after you get back."

Ralf furrowed his brow as the words sunk in. Was this some sort of thought-out trap? He spoke up to Heidern about it, who merely shook his head.

Heidern plainly stated, "Leona wouldn't ally herself with scum like Rugal. End of story. We have a lot of dirt on him anyways because of those two."

It was a cold and clean answer, and one that sunk deeply into Ralf and Clark.

* * *

After a few hours, the gigantic aircraft carrier came into view with Mature stepping out and leading them below decks as Vice looked around, doing a quick head-count. _Shit… I didn't think Rugal could assemble that many anti-air guns in such a short period of time. It's going to make evacuation from this thing a living hell._ She took a deep breath to calm down,_ Seriously… as soon as Kyo burns the bastard to crisp I am getting home and taking a nice long break from this Orochi crap._

"Vice!" came Mature's voice that brought the brunette Orochi fighter back to reality.

"Oh, sorry," she muttered as she ran along the surface of the carrier, following Kyo, Benimaru, and Goro down several flights of stairs. Eventually the two secretaries walked in front of the Team Japan and opened up a large double door, revealing a tall man in a red tuxedo that the three already recognized from before… Rugal.

"Hello, Team Japan…" he said in a rather oily voice as Vice and Mature walked away and Rugal moved towards a table, flipping open three briefcases and tossing the team one bundle of thousand-dollar bills from each.

"And this is?" Goro asked hesitantly. Rugal smiled and adjusted his tie before smiling.

"An offer. Like any businessman, I always try to make sure my visitors leave home with something, after all. The option is yours: either take those three bundles and walk away now… no problems asked and no punches thrown. _Or…_" he loosened his tie a bit, "You fight me and take the chance to win ten times the amount you hold in your hands."

Kyo looked down at the cash. It was American, and real, too. He'd get into college in a few years, even if he had to repeat eleventh and twelfth grades… which he was planning on doing… (Why not squeeze in a few more years with Yuki, anyways?) and he had more than enough money here to assure at least one year at any college he'd ever want, especially putting into account the Kusanagi fame…

WHAT THE HELL? Why should he be settling? Kyo looked up to tell Rugal off, but somebody else beat him to it.

"Team Japan _doesn't_ get paid off," Goro said forcefully as he stepped forward, tossing his stack at Rugal hard enough to cause the criminal to actually be knocked back.

"I see…" Rugal said as he looked at Benimaru and Kyo, who likewise dropped their own bundles. "Then it's a fight you want, correct? GOOD!" He attacked Goro first, expecting that one good kick would bring the Judo fighter down…

But he never connected. Instead Goro's palms slammed into his head, causing Rugal to stumble back. Goro then grabbed the man by the suit jacket and began throwing him around and bashing his face into the floor before sliding him away.

"And here I thought you were just a space-filler," Rugal chuckled as he got to his feet, hiding the wince from the pain. He would _not_ lose to some dull judo master that was probably still a virgin! Rugal charged again, ducking Goro's next hand thrust and slamming his fist into Daimon's chest.

And yet Goro simply grabbed Rugal under the arms and kicked out his legs before slamming Rugal onto the ground.

Screaming out in rage, Rugal forgot all concepts of restraint as a green flame ignited in his hands, his red outfit burning away to reveal an tough-looking black sleeveless one._ I just wish that Geese Howard or that upstart Kane girl had fought in this tournament… let's see if I got the motion down correctly…_ He brought his hand back and then sweeping it forward. "Reppuken!"

The bluish ground wave shot forward, but Goro just jumped over it, his long leg shooting out.

_No holding back! Pure murder!_ Rugal thought as he kicked back up, their shins connecting. As soon as they hit, however, Rugal spun backwards into the dreaded Genocide Cutter, battering Goro with the heel, front, and underside of his boot before he jumped back and looked at the dazed Japanese fighter. _At least I _know _I mastered this move…_ "KAISER WAVE!" The purple energy wave slammed into Goro, sending him into the wall and leaving a sizable dent. Rugal laughed as he looked down at his hands, thinking all the while, _And only a fraction of the Orochi power was needed!_ He then looked at Kyo and Benimaru and grinned. "If you were even twice your friend's strength, you had best give up. Even together you stand no chance against me!"

Kyo looked at Benimaru as the blonde looked back. "Beni… that sounds like a challenge…"

"The guy that lands the finishing blow has the other pay for drinks!" Benimaru said back as they both charged, jumping to the sides to dodge another Kaiser Wave and then shooting back in unison, planting their feet into both sides of Rugal's face.

After stumbling back a few steps, Rugal grabbed both fighters by their legs and slammed their heads together before tossing them up in the air and striking again with the Genocide Cutter, battering Kyo and Beni around before they hit the floor of the room like meteors. Rugal laughed again, a green flame slipping from his hands and encircling them in a ring of fire before launching another attack. Rugal targeted Kyo first, grabbing him by the neck and smashing him into the wall again and again, blood beginning to coat the wall.

Rugal then turned to Benimaru and charged the boxed-in Benimaru, only to have his boots suddenly stick to the ground. He then looked at Benimaru, who amid the flames had been touching the ground with a single finger. The Muay Thai fighter then looked at Rugal and licked it.

"Thanks for having us fight on a metal ship… this whole place is a wonderful conductor," he said as Rugal tried to charge anyways, only to stumble and catch a Raikoken in the face. Rugal nevertheless grabbed Benimaru's hands through the pain and buried his fist in Beni's gut before throwing him away.

_Still not even needing to go even half-power yet…_ Rugal thought as he looked at Benimaru trying to get up. A Kaiser Wave actually blasted him through the room into another one. Rugal began laughing again right before an Orochinagi burned itself into his back, knocking him flat on his face again. Rugal spun his legs and retaliated with another Genocide Cutter, but Kyo simply hopped back and as soon as he got his opening, spiraled up as his crimson flames overwhelmed Rugal's green ones.

Another hole in the Blacknoah was smashed into existence as Kyo and Rugal crashed into the radar dome, neither noticing that according to the computers, another helicopter was only a few minutes away from missile range.

Then again, throwing Rugal into the targeting computer sorta made the ship the most helpless warship in the area…

_I need more power!_ Rugal thought as he screamed out, charging at Kyo and grabbing him by the throat again, becoming stronger and stronger with each passing second.

The world started going black for Kyo and he saw images of his father, mother, Benimaru, Athena, Yuki, his classmates, and that annoying loser named Shingo flash before his eyes before somebody yelled out to him.

"KYO!" Benimaru shouted from below while looking up, "Like with me and Heidern!"

_What?_ Rugal thought, and at the moment he tried to recall what had happened in that fight, he had lost.

Kyo's eyes snapped open as he let go of all restraint on his flames while he grabbed at Rugal's right arm, calling upon the Kusanagi flames to incinerate the man's appendage before battering the shocked man left and right, striking him with four consecutive Orochinagi waves, leaving Rugal on the ground in a bloody and barely alive mass. "TELL ME WHERE THE HELL MY FATHER IS, YOU BASTARD!" he shouted, only to hear a calm voice cause him to turn around.

"Right here, Kyo…"

Kyo turned… just to see… Dad _right there_.

Kyo stood there with his mouth open in amazement… right through getting blasted through the room and onto the deck. Kyo struggled to get up as Saisyu kicked him in the face, causing Kyo to roll away as the injuries from the battle finally began to be noticed.

"I'm ashamed of you, Kyo… you deserve to die."

"LIKE HELL HE DOES!" came another voice as Benimaru tackled Saisyu and zapping him with an electric punch before getting kicked away, the part American's other hand gripping one of the cases of money. Another attack, this one an earthquake, shook Saisyu off guard as Goro rejoined his friends in Team Japan's last stand as Rugal shambled towards them, his right arm a bloody stump at the elbow as he and Saisyu glared at them with hatred.

"You are corpses that don't know you are dead yet," Rugal spat out as he charged again…

…Only to be knocked back by an attack from the air. Rugal looked up to see another helicopter in the air… that mercenary he had taken the eye of standing there and looking down at him. A rope ladder fell down and he called out for Team Japan to grab on, the three hesitantly obeying. Rugal charged again, but Heidern jumped down and kicked into the path of Rugal's Genocide Cutter, stopping it cold as for a brief moment, the two men shot hateful looks at each other that would've made Terry's glares at Geese be considered looks of infatuation.

"Next year I _will_ kill you," Heidern said as he punched at the amazed Rugal, overpowering the terrible Orochi strength with a simple punch as the two fell back to the Blacknoah. Heidern then sprang back up, grabbing onto ladder as the chopper flew away, causing Rugal to raise his fist up and yell out Heidern's name. How had the man not only surpassed Rugal's normal strength, but the might of the _Orochi_ in such a short period of time?

The last thing Kyo saw was Vice and Mature looking at them several feet away from Rugal with looks that said, 'We wished things would've worked out this time.'

* * *

Kyo was dead silent on the ride home… his own father had tried to _kill_ him!

Heidern's hand fell onto the Kusanagi's shoulder and Kyo looked up at him.

"I'm sorry I was late," Heidern said sadly, "If we had gotten here sooner-"

"It's okay," Kyo said as he took a deep breath. "Geese Howard didn't pull off all he wanted in one year… and now I know what I'm up against." Kyo looked off at the setting sun, clenching his fist as Benimaru and Goro both looked off with him.

"We'll get him next time," Benimaru said confidently. "We'll do it as a team."

"As a team," Goro repeated. "We'll push each other and _we'll show Rugal the true might of Japan!_"

* * *

It was a late at night at the Kusanagi residence when Kyo walked in, seeing his mom playing Bridge with some Strider Hiryu look-alike.

"I… didn't see Dad," Kyo lied as he smiled weakly, "But we won. Here." He tossed his share of the winnings on the table, to Shizuka Kusanagi's surprise.

Eiji took one look and muttered something about Geese offering twice that for the fourth-place winner in the King of Fighters 1980 tournament before sighing and standing up.

"Well, thank you very much for inviting me over, Shizuka," he said before he nodded to Kyo. "These things are the only things that keep me from going psychotic about killing the Sakazakis…"

"Oh Eiji… you and your stupid blood feud with Takuma's family…"

Eiji furrowed his brow as he pointed at Shizuka humorously, "Funny, I could say the same thing about you and the Yagami family!"

"THAT'S SOMETHING ENTIRELY DIFFERENT! YOU HAVE A FEUD FOR SOME REASON YOU KISARAGI ALL FORGOT! WE HAVE A FEUD BECAUSE SOME YAGAMI IDIOT HAD AN INFERIORITY COMPLEX AND COULDN'T STAND BEING A TALANTLESS WEAKLING LIKE ALL YAGAMI ARE!" She threw the entire table at Eiji, who ran away screaming like a little girl, having to kick away a few Strider Hiryu fans in the process.

Shizuka then turned to Kyo and smiled. "So tell me about your day!" she said while assuming a jovial expression.

A/N: Well, the King of Fighters '94 is over, and Team Japan is pulling double-time to get strong enough to beat Rugal and Saisyu next year! Of course, Billy's prepping for his own re-rematch against Kim Kaphwan, and Terry Bogard is backing his own team next year… the Rival Team! But for the moment, Billy Kane will find himself in Hong Kong and finding that maybe letting Lilly hold onto his staff wasn't too smart in Too Reliant.

Omake time! (Jeez… waiting around for some of these things is hell! I have to wait until 2001 for one of them!)

Parent-Teacher Conferences - or - Adelheid! What did I say about using the Genocide Cutter in public!

Rugal screamed out as a prosthetic arm was granted on where his original had been destroyed by Kyo before he looked at Vice and Mature furiously.

"And _how_ did the Ikari Warriors find the Blacknoah?" he growled, noticing not a bead of sweat on either of them.

"Well…" Mature said before swallowing, "Given the time it took them to get here, it's certainly probable they tracked _our_ helicopter… in which case it wouldn't be our fault whatsoever…"

Rugal opened his mouth to object when his pager beeped. "Oh, we'll finish this later. I have a teacher to visit. Prep my jet!"

As soon as Vice and Mature were out of eyeshot and earshot, they couldn't help but scream out with joy they had escaped blowing their cover while doing a little jig.

* * *

"So you see… Mr. Bernstein… both your children are proving to be problematic…" the teacher said while sweating, unable to pull his eyes away from Rugal's robotic eye.

"How so?" Rugal asked as he sat back, enjoying the intimidation factor he was exploiting on this person.

"Well, for one… Rose, your daughter, was responsible for a horrible fiasco with her second-grade class's election for their class president."

"Please go on," Rugal said with interest.

"Well, you see… maybe it wasn't so smart as to let those two secretaries… umm… Ana and Hermione… um… well… _strong-arm_ the competition and then hack into the school mainframe and rig the election…"

"I see nothing wrong with that," Rugal replied to the incredulous teacher.

"But it wasn't _her_ that won, it was some boy that had a crush on her, and Rose is using him like a puppet!"

"Don't we all use puppets, Mr. McDougal?"

"But-"

"I don't have time for this…" Rugal sighed as he shoved the man out of the way and then walked into the sixth-grade classroom and looked at his feminine-looking son, Adelheid.

To this day, Rugal had _no_ idea why he gave him a female name… maybe Wyler had put something in his drink that day…

The school principal was standing here and tapping his foot impatiently. "Took you long enough, Mr. Bernstein…"

"I had a familiar face drop by… I literally had to kick him out of my home."

The principal was just like the teacher, no sense of humor. "Mr. Bernstein, do you know what your son did today?"

"I'm assuming something that you find socially unacceptable despite the fact it's how I act every day in my extremely successful business…"

"Mr. Bernstein, don't start blabbing again about being a rabbit veterinarian!" the man shouted. "Your son, after being shoved into the girl's bathroom, got back at the boys that did it with… well, I don't know what to call it! I'll just show you…" He led Rugal and Adelheid into his office, where a video was being played over and over again. "There! That spinning, kicking technique that is extremely cheap and overpowered and should stay as a Desperation Move, or possibly a Leader Desperation Move and _not_ a normal attack!"

Rugal watched over and over again before he looked down at Adelheid and grinned. "Adelheid! When did you figure out how to do daddy's Genocide Cutter?"

"_Genocide_ Cutter?" the principal repeated in shock.

"Yes," Rugal explained. "It's a technique I sometimes use… anyways, thank you very much and I'll be sure to show Adelheid how to actually inflict serious damage with it." He took his son by the hand and led him out, talking about needing a celebration of some sort.

"But father," Adel started to say, "I really don't think I should be rewarded for something like this!"

Rugal whapped his son behind the head before scolding him. "Adel… there are two types of fighters in this world… ones that come up with moves and ones that steal them… and I will not raise a son that will waste time and effort coming up with his own fighting style when he can steal successful attacks in less than half the time!"


	25. Too Reliant

A/N: Sorry, Billy's off in China at the moment, so no two-person introduction. Anyways, I don't own this, you all know this, and I am SO sending this story, once it's completed, to SNK Playmore and see if they'll do a retelling of the story! I don't think it would be hard… just replacing a few sprites here and there…

* * *

"I see…" Geese said as he stood with the phone in his hand, looking at his now two-year-old Rock having fun with some of his friends. "Well, Billy, you should know the invite for the next King of Fighters already came… this time your opening match is in Korea. I guess you know what that means."

"Yeah," Billy answered. "Kim gets yet another fight with me… well, thanks for wiring me a couple thousand. I've already got my plane reservation for the ride back in three months."

"Just take care of yourself."

"No problem, and tell Rock I said hi."

There was silence on the line for a moment, and then a childish voice came through, "Mr. Kane," came the voice Billy knew was Rock's, "you just remember my dad is really strong, and you're his bodyguard… so you must be even better than him!"

"Something like that," Billy chuckled before saying his last good-byes and then hanging up.

He was currently walking out of a US embassy in Hong Kong, a new blue leather jacket on his back with a "No Smoking" sign… something Billy really enjoyed. And the plan was simple: just walk around town, get jumped by a bunch of punks that didn't know how to fight at all, beat them all up and learn something new about fighting.

But Billy didn't end up running into any fights that day, or the next, or even the next… and for the love of his life, the English stick fighter had no clue why things were so tame!

After a whole week wasted, Billy was tempted to just scream out in frustration in the middle of the street when suddenly a strong hand fell on his shoulder. Billy turned around to see a rather friendly looking Chinese man there with a red shirt and a set of nunchuku in his other hand.

"I'm sorry for asking you this," the man said in broken, but acceptable English, "But are you Billy Kane?"

"And if I am?"

The man reached into his pocket and pulled out his police badge, "They say you're one of the best bodyguards out there… pretty good with a…" he looked around, trying to see Billy's namesake weapon.

"I left it at home," he answered, "Sorta here on a training mission after getting beaten by Kim Kaphwan twice…"

"Kaphwan?" the man said with a hint of irritation in his voice, "That man is too extreme when it comes to police duties… I've had to work with him once when an escapee fled to Korea… not a fun experience." He stuck out his hand, "I'm Hon-Fu."

"Glad to meet you," Billy said, "Want me to get you something to drink?"

Hon-Fu grinned. "Sounds great."

* * *

"Things are getting quite here because of some business hand-off that entrepreneur Cheng Sinzan is doing, handing Cheng Enterprises off to some American company… he got nervous after that assassination attempt a bit back. That fork must've hurt like hell..." he said while drifting off. "The problem is that a _lot_ of Chinese criminals aren't too happy about it, as you'd expect."

"So things are getting quite here while they stock up on guns and the like," Billy concluded.

"And every extra layer of security would help," Hon-Fu said. "So I was hoping you'd help oversee the security of the meeting."

Billy took a deep breath before closing his eyes. "How many people are going to be there?"

"Upwards of five hundred."

"Security forces?"

"Fifty guards, each one of them equipped sufficiently."

"I'll see what I can do," Billy said as he stood up, "Let's see the place."

* * *

"Interesting outfit change," Andy remarked as he looked at Terry's new outfit, which gave up the ponytail and red jacket for a loose head of hair and a less conspicuous brown jacket. (A/N: Wild Wolf outfit ahead of its time!)

"He took the hat," Terry answered as he stood up, looking at the envelope that he had gotten for the next King of Fighters. This Rugal was too confident for his own good. "I'm not going to wear the outfit that reminds me of that defeat…"

"So should we team-up with Mai?"

Terry shook his head. "No… I'm still recovering. Mai should stay with Sakazaki and the bartender… an extra set of eyes and ears."

"What about me?" Andy asked.

Terry looked up with an interested look on his face. "Andy, you remember how Yagami and Kisaragi said they'd only work with us if they got a shot at their rivals?"

* * *

"Wow…" Billy said as he looked around the gigantic party center, "I can see what you mean by needing my help…" Billy said. "You've got a lot of things down, positioning people just behind choke points, plenty of cameras and security detectors…"

"Anything we're missing?" Hon-Fu asked.

_Well, _I'm _missing my staff right now…_ "Yeah…" Billy pointed up to the one of the observation boxes. "Put your best men up there, the one you trust the most with a sniper rifle."

"What?" Hon-Fu said with a dropped jaw.

Billy then pointed to all the other private boxes. "Keep the best sniper spot for yourself so you can get any gunner before they get Sinzan."

"Anything else?"

Billy furrowed his brow as he tried to think, "Check for bombs and bugs?"

"Already taken care of… and metal detectors set up at every single entrance.

"Sounds good then," Billy said while grinning.

"One more thing though," Hon-Fu said, returning William's smile. "If you want to train to beat Kaphwan, I'd be glad to help you!"

"Sounds like a deal!" Billy answered as the two shook hands.

* * *

Three days later, it was the transfer of power to the Metatron Corporation, with an audience just as big as Hon-Fu had guessed. Despite the fact that Billy was a newcomer to Chinese law enforcement, he had been permitted to be there with the police, just by virtue of the fact he _was_ an outsider. The Howard Connection had nothing to gain from Cheng's death, and therefor Billy's suggestions were taken as what to do, although Hon-Fu was still considered in charge.

_He is _such _a slob!_ Billy thought as Cheng discussed plans of going into archeology after the transaction, possibly setting up a series of museums while talking with his mouth full of food. Thankfully there were no smokers there, and dress code had no restrictions on bandanas, so Billy Kane thought himself rather dashing in his rented tuxedo.

The hours slowly ticked by as Billy made his rounds, making sure nothing was out of place and reporting anybody looking suspicious.

Finally, the dinner was ready to be served, and the various tables had been set up as a spokesperson for Metatron, a guy that went by "Hyena", prepared the presentation.

Just as Billy moved to take a sip of his red wine, an explosion went off, followed doors opening and fire from automatics that caused everybody to hit the ground, Hon-Fu already readying his personal weapon as Billy swore he hadn't brought his. He took a few glances around. 

The bathrooms… they had blown holes into the bathrooms and come in that way…

Needless to say, the guards were on the scene quickly and did an excellent job holding off the attackers, and with all due respect, that sniper idea Billy had _really_ paid off…

Until a figure stormed in and literally laughed off the bullets… Hon-Fu recognized him _instantly_.

Ryuji Yamazaki.

The thug simply flicked his hand across the entire room, knocking down some of the guards and ripping the throats out of the others before ducking under one of the sniper shots.

Hon-Fu clenched his fists as he jumped up, tearing off his suit and fighting in his traditional black shirt and orange pants as he attacked the gangster.

But something was different this time… the other times the two had battled, Ryuji had been tough, but not unstoppable. This time Yamazaki simply grabbed the supercop's leg right out of the kick and threw him away, lashing out again with that cobra-like hand strike before he suddenly got a punch to the gut.

_Him!_ the controlling force in "Dark" Ryuji thought as he looked at Billy Kane, _The bodyguard of the man responsible for me having to take refuge in this pathetic vessel!_ The strike didn't do much, and Ryuji swatted Billy away, the bandanna-clad Englishman sliding to a stop next to Hon-Fu.

"Think we can take him?" Billy grunted as Yamazaki was held back from killing either Hyena or Cheng by the sniper.

"We're going to need a plan…" Hon-Fu answered before Yamazaki simply picked up a table and threw it the entire distance to the viewing box, knocking it and the officer to the depths below. "A real good plan…"

Dark Yamazaki just looked at them, debating between taking out Hyena or Billy… _Hyena is just a puppet of Addis_, he thought, _I'm sending a message to Howard and Goenitz in a body bag if I kill Kane!_ He approached the two fighters, grinning as his hand flicked out again, barely managing to be blocked by Billy as he slid back further, Hon-Fu using the opportunity to strike and batter Yamazaki with the nunchuku.

_Need a plan!_ Billy thought as he charged again, another weak punch being deflected as Hon-Fu did his best to stand up to Ryuji, which wasn't that impressive. _Don't have a staff here, don't have anything that could function as a decent staff… never really focused much on fighting without them…_

_You're giving up too easily, Billy_, came a voice as Billy's view of the world went black and the only figure there was Master Tung.

But I'm in too deep! 

_Nonsense. Billy, you showed great talent in fighting with a staff, mastering every aspect of it._

_But that's not any good here!_ Billy said, _I could understand using a table or chair leg, but they're way too short to be any good!_

_Billy…_ Tung sighed, _Stick fighting isn't all about fighting with the weapon in your hand. And you want to really show Kim up… the answer is right in front of you!_

Billy snapped back to consciousness as Hon-Fu went flying into the ground next to him, Ryuji jumping up in the air and grabbing Billy by the throat and dragging him across the floor.

_Shit… what was Tung talking about?_ Billy thought as he tried to pry himself out of the guy's grip to no avail, kicking and struggling all the while. By sheer chance, Billy's leg connected with Yamazaki's groin, and even an Orochi-possessed gangster had a lot of nerves down there.

Ryuji screamed in agony, letting Billy go. Suddenly Hon-Fu was back, and Billy went with him, both striking him in the face and sending him flying away. As Ryuji got up, still rather uninjured, the sounds of many guns being readied. He turned, weighing his chances. The chances one of those rifles would hit something critical was too great, and the Orochi knew he couldn't risk this last part of the eight families just yet. He turned and ran, and despite Hon-Fu's lightning-fast pursuit, the night enveloped Ryuji and he was gone.

* * *

It was an epic clash, and Kim's respective students were in awe as Kim and Jhun matched move after move, crushing kicks and sweeps tearing across everything in their path. Eventually the sparring match was over, and the two friends bowed and then turned to their students and let them go.

"You're getting even stronger," Jhun mentioned as he rubbed his neck.

"Rugal's pitted me against Team Fatal Fury again," Kim answered, "Billy Kane will no doubt wish for yet another rematch, and Justice must grow in strength as Evil does as well."

"Whatever you say," Jhun sighed as Kim's wife, Myun, walked in on them.

"Kim," she said, "There's something you should see on the television… about some situation in China..."

* * *

"That sparring match today was pretty good," Joe said to Lilly as his girlfriend cuddled up to him for an afternoon of just spending time together to watch a few shows. "You're getting better with every day that passes. You _sure_ you're not entering the next tournament?"

"I'm sure," Lilly answered, "Not until I feel Geese is officially retired."

"And if he never lives up to your expectation?" Joe asked as he moved a hand down to her stomach to playfully massage it through her typical red dress.

"Don't worry," she said as she flipped to another channel, "He will…"

Her voice trailed off at the news story being aired.

"Just a few short hours ago, a terrorist action against one of the spokespeople of the Metatron Corporation was stopped dead in its tracks due to the actions of two brave fighters!" said the reporter, the screen cutting to images of Billy and Hon-Fu standing side-by-side while flashing happy smiles and the "V" for victory symbol.

"The two, China's own Hon-Fu and the bodyguard of the infamous-"

"WATCH YOUR MOUTH!" Billy shouted at the reporter.

"Sorry, bodyguard of the _legendary_ Geese Howard, Billy Kane, successfully diffused a dangerous situation with intelligent planning and organization, themselves standing up against the ringleader and sole escapee, the criminal Ryuji Yamazaki." She walked over to the two, asking if they had anything to say.

Hon-Fu winked at Billy, who took the microphone and grinned as he pointed to the screen.

"Consider this a message, Kim Kaphwan!" he shouted on international television, "I'm gonna beat your Justice-Warrior ass up and down the streets of South Korea in eleven months, and there's not a thing you can do to stop it!"

* * *

White sighed as he sat back in his seat, looking at the dark-skinned man in front of him.

"So… Jivatama…" he asked as he kicked back and put his feet n the desk, "You think that the Yamazaki is onto us?"

"Obviously," the man answered, "He knows what will likely happen now that Cheng will be doing excavation near the grounds of the Jin demons."

"Good… it'll be nice to have something to hold him in our pockets…" White said before laughing out loud.

* * *

"You sure you want to do this?" Hon-Fu asked as he stared at Billy, both fighters in their battle-ready positions in the Hong Kong policeman's gym.

"Positive," Billy answered. "I finally figured out what I need to do to beat Kim, and even God won't stop me from training for it!"

The two charged, ready to make the best of these precious two months.

* * *

Team Japan's three fighters battled against each other on the Kusanagi family grounds, each one pressuring the others as they trained as furiously as possible.

The situation had been bad last year, but at least they had put a face and name on Rugal's strength… the power of the Orochi. Each fight always ended up with Goro being bested by either Kyo or Benimaru before Electricity and Fire went after each other, both fighters swapping wins and losses like baseball cards.

"So who are we going after for the first round?" Benimaru asked one day as Kyo deftly blocked a fast knee strike before countering with a grab. Beni kicked Kyo away and friend him with a Raikoken until a ground flare shook him off, the two fighters ending up tying each other by sending a fierce punch into the other's face.

"Team Psycho Soldiers again," Kyo panted as he collapsed. He was getting a lot stronger… he could feel it.

Beni grinned as he waggled a finger at Kyo. "Oh… get to fight your _girlfriend_ again, eh?"

"Want me to torch you?" Kyo asked in an irritated tone before Benimaru laughed. "That's it!" They charged again, more for fun than anything else.

A/N: Billy Kane has discovered the secret to beating Kim Kaphwan… but what is it? Some secret new technique or something far more simple? Nevertheless, the various teams will be assembled, blood will be spilt by Yagami's ruthless attacks, and Rugal Bernstein will learn just what makes a true Champion.


	26. Champion

A/N: Here it is… next chapter! I don't own this, by the way.

P.S. I've just realized that in all three of my works in progress, I have a character named Lillith. Weird, huh?

It was a dark and stormy night in Southtown… and most of the populace had curled up in their beds and hoped the morning after wouldn't be too wet.

Lilly and Joe, for instance, were resting peacefully in Lilly's room at the Hakkyokusieken academy when the noise of somebody opening a door stirred Lilly awake. Letting go of Joe and slipping out of the bed, Lilly massaged her eyes to get awake sooner before staggering over to the calendar and checking the date.

Considering that Joe didn't feel it was appropriate to go "all the way" while he was keeping an eye on one of his best friends' sister, Lilly was still wearing the basics of clothes… shirt, pants, and undergarments, and Lilly's bare feet made nary a sound as they walked through the rooms. Most of the students were still asleep, which was good, although some had been shaken a bit. But simply seeing the image of their teacher was reassurance enough that everything way okay.

Lilly eventually finished her rounds and stepped outside in the rain, seeing a figure there… much of his image masked by the darkness except when a bolt of lightning would shoot across the sky. But the red staff was there… reclaimed after three months.

Lilly just grinned and charged, garnet-red aura flaring to life as the two Kane's clashed in the middle of the storm, red staff and red fist colliding and sending them both back.

"Chance Reppuken!" Lilly shouted as she quickly fired off the new technique, this ground wave smaller and less powerful, be much faster and knocking Billy off guard as he tried to move fast enough to block it. Lilly charged again, kicking at her big brother's side… only to have Billy block it with one of the socket's of his staff and then swing the flexible weapon at her. After being hit several times, Lilly threw up one of her hands vertically to take the attack. She bent with the strike, spinning around extremely quick and backhanding Billy with her other hand, knocking him back.

"Your own version of the Atami Nage?" Billy asked as felt the bruise. She was good… better than Joe was and about dead even with him right about now.

Lilly once again donned her sweet smile before lunging again, "Yep!" She dodged another staff stab and then put her fingers on the weapon itself, thrusting them out and firing miniature Reppukens across the staff with caused Billy to drop it. "Well… you're weaponless now… time to show me what you learned on your trip!"

"Gladly!" Billy shouted taking the offensive with a series of kicks…

* * *

After being woken up by somebody yelling out the word "Reppuken", Joe managed to step out of bed and check the date. _Huh… Billy said he'd be back today…_ Joe thought as walked out, hearing the battle between brother and sister rage as he stepped outside into the freezing rain, seeing Lilly on the ground, defeated by Billy.

Billy looked up, however, in total shock.

"Joe…" he said, taking in Joe's choice of nighttime apparel. "What the hell?"

"What?" Joe asked, wondering what this was all about.

"You probably would hike through Canada's tundra in nothing but those god-awful boxing shorts… AND YOU SLEEP IN THIS KIND OF AUTUMN WEATHER IN FULL-BODY FLANAL PAJAMAS?" He helped Lilly up and picked up his staff before approaching Billy and hugging him.

"What's with the new outfit?" Joe asked as he got a better look at Billy's jacket. The stick fighter just grinned and pointed to the back.

"Whatever, I'll tell you later."

"Whell…" Joe yawned, "I'm going back to bed now… Lilly, you'll know where I'll be."

Lilly just smiled at Billy as they walked in after him, Billy speaking first. "Lillith…" he said, using her 'proper' name that they reserved for private times, "You held back against me."

"Of course, William… just as much as you held out against me," she said happily, "You want to put on a show for us against Kim after all, right?"

"Sure thing. Now go and spend the night with your boyfriend. I've got another person to visit before I crash for the night."

Lilly understood who he was talking about at left to re-accompany Joe, her clothes wet from the fight outside, but thankfully not transparent.

* * *

Mary closed up her folder for the night, another round of paperwork done when Anton barked happily and moved towards the door. The Southtown police officer opened her apartment door to see a soaked Billy in front of her, smiling and holding his staff behind him before taking off his bandana and wringing it out.

"Hey," she said as he walked up and hugged her, "How was the trip?"

"Perfect. You saw me on the news, right?"

"Yeah… and I recall another cop being there with you. You didn't happen to trade me in for that Hon-Fu guy, did you?"

Billy glared at her for a moment before she giggled. "Nah. He just helped me out as a sparring partner. I needed to fight somebody that attacked as fast as Kim did, and he was happy to oblige."

"Well then," Mary said as she closed the door, "Tell me about it!"

* * *

The weeks drifted on as the next King of Fighters tournament drew nearer and nearer. Eiji Kisaragi and Iori Yagami both hesitantly joined with Andy Bogard to form the "Rival Team" to take the place of the laughing stock that had been the USA Sports Team, which as far as anyone knew, had been beaten into the ground and stayed there due to the ferocity of Terry Bogard's returning strength when they came to reclaim their invite.

The Ikari Warriors, fully understanding the role that Vice and Mature played concerning Rugal (Although Leona had left out the details concerning other Serpent Gods other than the Orochi), continued training, and Heidern's Rugal-surpassing strength increased further and further through intense training.

Robert Garcia, who had gone to Mexico to visit a childhood friend, had returned back to Southtown refreshed and with high spirits, and Team Kyokugen trained as furiously as ever as the "Girlfriend" Team and Team Fatal Fury did the same in the same city… Billy's "secret plan" for shutting Kim up being still unknown to all save for Mary, who wouldn't tell anyways.

Athena and Kyo's respective teams also tested themselves in heated three-way battles that improved their team strength overall, both Kyo and Athena looking forward to their next match.

Kim Kaphwan, though, pushed himself with incredible zeal, studying Billy's fights from the first King of Fighters and making educated guesses on improved staff techniques his enemy had developed. Kim also looked into the fighting style of Hon-Fu and other Hong Kong fighters to see if Billy had picked something up from them.

The weeks became months, and eventually twelve of them passed.

The King of Fighters '95 was on.

* * *

Rugal Bernstein, on board the Blacknoah, sat back as satellite feeds from the four pre-arranged fighting arenas for the opening rounds were displayed on the televisions in front of him, Saisyu standing by his side and watching intently.

"They've all improved…" Kyo's father said as he looked at each group, "Any of the teams would be a serious threat to you in a fight now."

"But that's where you come in, correct?" Rugal asked, "To even the odds?"

"Yes, master." Saisyu answered as his eyes drifted over to Team Fatal Fury, meeting up with Kim's team in a trainyard in Korea. Suddenly Saisyu gasped in utter amazement and his eyes went wide before he pointed to Billy Kane. "That fighter… of all of them there… his power has increased more than any other competitor in the tournament. He still is not the strongest… Sakazaki and the mercenary maintain that title… but Kane should not be underestimated under any circumstances."

Rugal grinned as he sat back before laughing out loud. "So it's true… the so-called 'Legacy of Kane'… that both William and his sister may have to earn every scrap of strength they have, they earn it at an alarming rate. Whatever the case… we'll deal with them before they're a true threat."

* * *

Billy stared at Kim as the two fighters stepped forward, Kim noticing the entourage behind Team Fatal Fury's captain. "I see you've brought fans…" Kim said. _That Hon-Fu he acquainted himself with and his sister, like last time… along with some of her students…_

"So did you," Billy answered, motioning back at the students that Kim had invited to watch the match.

And then a figure stepped from the Hakkyokusieken ranks, and Kim's mouth dropped open.

Geese Howard.

The man that had utterly demolished Kim in a fight just walked up to Billy and smiled. "Think you can take him?"

"Certainly, boss…" Billy answered as the two groups walked away… but Kim and Billy didn't move an inch.

"Break him down like usual!" Choi shouted atop Chang's massive shoulders as an idea came to Kim.

The Taekwando master turned and looked at Jhun Hoon, who was thinking the same thing and nodded. "Okay, Kane," Kim said as he looked back, "Want to make this interesting?"

"How so?" Billy asked.

Kim shrugged, "Nothing serious… just instead of wasting all this time in between while our teammates fight… we just cut to the chase! You and me, best of one fight. Whoever wins moves to the semi-finals, no questions asked."

"Sure," Billy answered as he started to walk away before Kim called out to him again.

"One more thing…" Kim said, which caused Billy to spin around. "Would you like to make a little wager?"

"How so?" Billy asked.

"Well, it's just you seem _very_ confident you'll beat me this time, even calling me out on international television during that standoff awhile back. So… I'm saying that if you don't beat me this time, Team Fatal Fury must retire from tournaments and Geese Howard must never again sponsor any fighting team or enter in a tournament himself!"

There was a gasp as many of Kim's students cheered from their master's boldness. Billy suddenly felt his throat become very dry as he looked back at Geese and his friends and associates. Would he risk that much on just one fight? Could he actually lo-

"You're on!" came Mary's voice instead as she pointed at Chang and Choi, "And if Billy wins, you have to stop your rehabilitation project and hand those two over to the authorities!"

Billy looked back at Kim defiantly and pointed back to Mary with his staff. "What she said!"

Kim laughed. "Fine. We'll fight on the train right here," Kim said as he pointed to the body of the locomotive next to them. "You lose when you give up, get knocked out, or touch the ground."

"Fine," Billy said as they both turned to the train, "Go!"

Both Korean and English fighter ran at the metal container, Kim jumping up the length effortlessly as Billy pole-vaulted up…

…And left his staff sticking straight up on the ground, eliciting cheers of victory from Team Korea, save for Chang and Choi, who realized getting away from Kim might actually be a good idea.

"Looks like you lost your namesake," Kim laughed as he looked at an unfazed Billy before charging. "Justice will always win, no matter what shape Evil takes!"

"That so?" Billy asked as he raised one leg and snapped it up, knocking Kim away. The older fighter hit the metal ceiling of the train hard, wiping the blood from his mouth.

_What?_ Kim thought in shock as he got to his feet. _There is no way he learned that much about kicking in just one year! It's impossible!_

As if reading his mind, Billy answered. "I realized the secret to me matching you in battle without my staff _was_ fighting with my legs," Billy said as he charged, "Even when I was using my staff, I trained quite a bit with my legs… so all I had to do was build off what I had already learned and not come up with some new fighting style."

Kim rolled away from the strike before sliding back and knocking Billy off-balance. Kim grabbed Billy by his 'No Smoking' jacket and threw him away, but Billy simply shot his foot down and dug it into the train, stopping him after a few seconds.

"I'm going to out-kick you, Kim Kaphwan," Billy said as he charged again, "Right in front of your beloved students!"

Meanwhile, Geese was looking on in wonder at his bodyguard. "You take him down, Billy."

* * *

Various newscasters were swarming the Howard Area's arena in Southtown as both King and Andy's teams stepped up to fight, Eiji glaring hatefully at both King and Yuri.

"So how do you want to do this?" King asked as the three male rivals stared at them until Iori spoke up.

"Standard style. I'll fight first and-"

"No," Eiji interrupted as he stepped in front, "We each deal with our own respective rivals. That's the deal. _I'll_ deal with Sakazaki and the bartender first."

Iori sighed before sweeping his hair back. "Whatever. A deal's a deal…"

Eiji nodded as both he and King took the front stage, Eiji cracking his neck before dropping into a battle-ready stance. "I hear you've become quite close to Ryo…" Eiji said as he unsheathed his daggers, egging Kig on.

"Sure," King answered back, "And I'm about his level of strength too."

Eiji just laughed before jumping in the air and spinning down, kick rapidly at King as the French woman threw up her hands to block the attacks. Her foot then shot up in a crescent arc, knocking Eiji off-balance and causing him to fall victim to King's Trap Shoot. She landed several harsh strikes across the ninja's body before he flew away. King then quickly kicked again, this time firing off a Venom Strike projectile that Eiji deftly reflected back to her.

The Muay Thai female took the shot to the gut and fell to her knees as Eiji caught his breath as well. "You forgot I could do that, didn't you?"

"It _did_ slip my mind…" King answered as she rolled out of the way of a fast slash move and then came roaring back with a Tornado Kick move that blasted Eiji away again. Eiji's fingers then quickly slashed through the air, sending a colossal energy slash at King, who took the full force of it. "_Okay…_" she muttered as she again got to her feet, "You've definitely got better than the last time I saw you fight…"

Eiji laughed comically as he pointed at her. "I'll have you know that I dream of the day that people would play the game 'Strider' and think 'Oh my God! It's Eiji Kisaragi!' and train for that day to someday come!" He sent another slash wave at King, who jumped back onto her feet and focused her energy into two swift projectiles.

"DOUBLE STRIKE!" King shouted as the first attack negated Eiji's slash as the second came in from behind, knocking the wind out of Eiji and opening King up to jump in the air and shoot down. "Surprise Rose!" She battered Eiji's entire frame with the kicks, finally sending him careening out of the ring.

Iori looked disgusted at Eiji as he stepped up next.

* * *

Heidern, Ralf, and Clark all stood in the airfield of the Ikari Warrior's home base in Brazil, watching the helicopter holding their first opponents descend and finally land. Out stepped Team Kyokugen, and Heidern's stolid expression melted into one of friendship as he looked at Takuma.

"Hey there!" Takuma said, raising up a hand and waving it. Ryo could only look at his dad in confusion.

"Dad… how do you know the leader of the Ikari Warriors?" he asked as Robert was equally dumbstruck.

Takuma just grinned as Heidern explained to his two teammates the same thing Takuma was about to say: "We bunked together in college."

Ralf, Clark, Robert, and Ryo almost face-vaulted as Heidern and Takuma walked up to each other and shook each other's hand, both grinning devilishly.

"So how do you want to do this?" Takuma asked as Heidern's strategic mind instantly came up with the answer.

"Three one-on-one matches, random selection."

"You're on!"

* * *

The sunny streets of Osaka, Japan had broken up and formed rings of crowds as both Team Japan and Psycho Soldier readied themselves on one side of the street each.

"Hey, Athena!" Kyo called out, "Wanna make this interesting?"

"How so?" Athena shouted back.

Kyo grinned as he flashed a thumbs-up. "All-out brawl! Three-on-three simultaneously!"

A/N: With the rules being… _slightly_ bent in the King of Fighters '95… the opening rounds are set to commence! Will Kim finally be shut up by Billy's swift leg assault? Can the Girlfriend Team hold out against Iori Yagami and still have enough strength left over to handle Andy Bogard? Will the Heidern Assassination Arts be enough to beat Kyokugenryu? And will Team Japan hold out against the two-pronged psychic attack in Opening Brawls? Find out next chapter!

Omake Time!

Dumb Rugal -or- Mr. Bernstein, you failed 'Critical Thinking'... Didn't you?

It was just another day of pointless paperwork for Vice and Mature on the Blacknoah when the doors slid open. The looked up to see a smug Ana and Hermione... followed by a stern and angry-looking Rugal.

"We need to talk," Rugal growled before slamming his robotic hand on Vice's desk.

"About what?"

"About you two feeding information to the Ikari Warriors!" he yelled, green flames enveloping his hands.

"Where... where did you get that idea?" Mature asked nervously.

Rugal looked at her and grinned. "Simple common sense. I trust Ana and Hermione with my life... you two, however, are the only people that could've conceivably been responsible for Heidern finding out location last year!"

He didn't expect Vice to break down in quite laughter.

"Mr. Bernstein... do you think we'd be dumb enough to do something like that when we'd know we'd be the first to suspect us? I mean, look at me! I'm a pessimist! I'd assume that naturally and wouldn't do it because I'd know you'd barge in here and kill us!"

Rugal looked at her for a moment before blushing and walking out. "Oh... sorry to disturb you then... and I'll have somebody replace that desk for you."

Ana and Hermione immediately ran after their boss, Ana immediately pointing out, "Vice had that explanation down as if it was a routine!"

Rugal stopped and did some quick figuring before nodded and kept walking. "She said she was a pessimist... she probably expected I'd screw up like that. That's a good secretary... be sure to give her a raise the next time her paycheck comes around."

P.S. Try that "I didn't do it because I know I'd be the first person you'd come after" line in real life. It works. I used it as my defense when I'd lock the lockers of people right next to me. And I pulled it off... for two years. Now I'm going for number 3!


	27. Opening Brawls

A/N: Sorry for the lack of updates… I've just had a book report and I needed to finish it by August 1st. Anyways… on to the next chapter!

Mature looked at Vice wide-eyed for a moment as her friend and partner in crime… well, investigative undercover work, breathed a sigh of relief before smiling once for no reason other than being relieved.

"Wow… it _actually_ worked…" Vice said as she sat back. "I could've handed out the coordinates to the whole UN with fingerprints and a signature and Rugal probably still wouldn't have believed it!"

"Yeah…" Mature said as she slowly got back to work. "Thanks, Celia."

"My name's _Vice_… _Emily_," Vice shot back.

King winced as she clutched her bloodied left arm at Iori, who was looking at her with more disgust than ever before.

* * *

_I can't believe she's giving me _this_ much trouble!_ Iori thought as he charged again, falling victim to another Trap Shot and getting battered away. Iori roared in frustration as he dashed back, punching into King's gut before punching her up in the air and slamming her back down. He had expected her to just stay sprawled on the arena. He was wrong.

King managed the strength to shoot back up, however, nailing Iori in the forehead before he finally just cut loose and blasted the injured Muay Thai fighter with a stream of purple flames. King finally collapsed, bruised and bloody, but capable of making a full recovery, if given time.

Iori clenched his fists and screamed out again, this time in victory before a forceful kick knocked him to the ground. He rolled back to see Yuri Sakazaki standing there defiantly. Iori just flipped back to his feet and cracked his neck. "Little girls shouldn't get into big fights…" he said while flipping up his red hairstyle so both of his eyes could glare at Yuri.

"I'm twenty-nine, bastard," Yuri growled back. (A/N: I know, I know! But jump back 15 years, and she's 14 for the King of Fighters 1980. Besides, the AoF bunch are all nuts.)

Iori wouldn't have any of that, instead he just sent a wave of purple flames across the ground and enveloped Yuri. Charging again, Iori slashed at her…

But she wasn't there.

"HIYA!" Yuri shouted cheerfully as Iori looked up to see that she had jumped up and then thrown a fireball at him, catching him straight in the face. Iori stumbled back more from being caught off-guard than anything else, but as soon as Yuri landed, she slammed her fist cleanly into his chin, grabbed him by the collar, and slapped him around before kicking him away.

_THAT BITCH!_ Iori thought as he glared at her. She was nothing to him! He charged again, grabbing Yuri by the head and giving her a twisted version of her own attack, except slashing at her back and forth before giving her an open-faced palm strike to the center of her face that sent her flying yards away.

Yet despite what Iori was expecting, Yuri got to her feet and wiped the blood from her mouth before getting in a shaky Kyokugenryu stance. Iori charged again, and Yuri thrust her hands out, a pink wave of energy shoot up right in front of her that knocked Iori away. She then fired off her own version of the Haoh-Sho-Koh-Ken at Iori as he was trying to get back up.

As the smoke cleared, Iori came right back, tackling her and slamming his fists into her eight times… the dreaded "Eight Maidens" attack. He then tossed Yuri's unconscious form to the edge of the ring and laughed as Mai began to sweat nervously. Maybe she had gotten in too deep.

"Wh…wait…" groaned a weak voice as Yuri managed to stumble to her feet and throw up a mediocre defensive stance. "Kyokugenryu is made… of sterner stuff, after all…"

* * *

Kim could barely stay focused in the fight as every conceivable strike he sent at Billy was blocked, ducked, or countered nearly instantly. Kim tried sliding to kick out Billy's legs… and the Englishman simply flipped into a handstand and let his feet drop down and bean Kim in the head. Kim then tried a crescent-kick up… and Billy stopped that rocket on the ground by then kicking Kim in the guts before flipping away.

Team Fatal Fury and the Hakkyokusieken academy cheered as Billy deftly recovered from a harsh kick to the side of the head, slamming his hands onto the ground and then throwing himself forward, spinning around and then kicking Kim away too.

Kim's eyes looked down at those watching him… Choi, Chang, those two young girls May Lee and Chae Lim… his own _sons_… they were counting on him! He flipped back to avoid Billy's next kick and then shot back, stringing kick after kick to Billy's chest, head, and gut before jumping back and leaping forward. He spun upward, slamming both his feet into Billy's chin and landing triumphantly as Billy fell off the train.

Except Billy was still fully conscious and in control of his body. Billy stretched out his hand, and found his positioning had been perfect.

Billy's staff wasn't considered part of the ground, and he hung defiantly from it, bending the top of it at an angle so one of the openings was pointing straight at Kim.

"SOCKET FLAME!" Billy shouted as the jet of flame streamed out and burned Kim before Billy rebounded back onto the train, lunging out and hitting Kim with a three-pronged attack of his legs and the end of his staff. Kim felt the wind literally be ripped out of him as Billy spun around and jumped back, shooting his staff out its entire fifty-foot length, Kim on the very edge and being held up in the air as Billy grinned.

"Here's a new move for you, Kim," Billy shouted as the furthest segment of his staff caught on fire, burning Kim in the process. "And remember… No Smoking!" He let the staff retract before shooting it back up and juggling Kim in the air for a whole minute, repeating the process with the burning brand before finally dumping Kim on the ground, unconscious and finally defeated as Joe, Lilly, and Mary cheered on their friend while Geese quietly grinned.

He had done it… Billy realized he had finally done it! He beat Kim Kaphwan!

_Some day, Takuma…_ Geese thought, _When I'm ready, we'll fight and settle our own differences._

Billy jumped down and walked away victorious with those that had waited for this moment for two whole years… and Kim struggled to his feet, looking at his students and feeling humiliated as his younger son… Kim Jae Hoon, walked up to him and helped him up.

"It took him and his weapon to beat you, dad," he said as the thought echoed through the audience as they all realized that, only to applaud seconds later, carting Kim Kaphwan off like a champion.

* * *

Kyo, Benimaru, and Goro charged at Team Psycho Soldier, quickly jumping to the side to avoid a salvo of Psychoballs before finally reaching melee range…Kyo going after Athena, Benimaru fighting Sie, and Goro attacking Chin. Sie was quickly beat back further and further by Benimaru's sequences of kicks, eventually get blasted away by a Raikoken.

Kyo likewise managed to throw Athena on the opposite side of the street… but Goro and Chin were unfortunately evenly matched. As soon as Kyo and Benimaru charged to help out Goro, however, Chin bent out of the way of their punches and spun his sake gourd around, tripping all three of them up.

Team Japan quickly rolled to their feet and sprang back to avoid a titanic stream of fire that Chin was breathing, but all three of them ended up hitting an invisible wall from behind as Psychoballs rained down on them, pinning Kyo, Benimaru, and Goro between a rock and a hard place, figuratively speaking. Kyo rolled under the flames and tried to get behind Chin, only to run into another giant invisible wall.

_Dammit!_ Kyo thought, seeing Athena and Sie were the culprits behind this action, _Can't blast through this and who knows how high this thing goes up?_

However, for once it was not Benimaru or Kyo that opened a window of opportunity, but Goro Daimon… who slammed his hands into the ground with seismic force. The tremors shook Athena and Sie off balance, as well as shaking up Chin and opening him up to get an Orochinagi, knocking him out.

With the giant invisible walls temporarily disabled, Benimaru and Kyo charged at Sie, the former generating electrical projections of himself and essentially shoving them into Kensou before finally reaching the boy and kicking him up into the air… only to fall victim to one of Kyo's Orochinagi waves.

A sudden scream caused them all to turn and see Goro having grabbed hold of Athena and slamming her into the hard road again and again before tossing her up in the air.

"Ready?" Kyo asked as he looked at Benimaru, who just grinned.

"Why not?"

They both sprang at Athena, Oniyami fire technique and Inazuma lightning connecting into Athena, the joint forces of two anti-airs too much for Athena to take before landing with a thud.

Kyo looked down at Athena and helped her up, the female fighter being slightly dazed… along with the rest of her team. "You okay?" he asked.

She looked up and grinned weakly. "Sure, that was a pretty good fight!"

* * *

"Okay…" said Leona said as she held out three straws in each hand, the colored bottomed tips being hidden. "Just pick whenever you're ready."

Heidern and Takuma both pulled first, the mercenary getting a blue-tipped straw while Takuma ended up with a red-tipped one. Ralf and Ryo picked next, ending up getting the opposite colors, meaning that they'd be fighting each other's team captain. And that meant that Robert and Clark would fight each other as well.

Heidern looked at the straw in his hand and sighed. "Sorry, Takuma… but I'm going to have to beat up your boy."

"And I'm going to have to beat up your lieutenant."

They both laughed heartily, with Leona, Ryo, Robert, Ralf, and Clark all wide-eyed in shock and a little bit of horror.

"Robert… if I EVER start acting like that… sterilize me," Ryo said, suddenly feeling a strong hand falling on his shoulder from Robert.

"No problem, man. After all, that means I'd _have_ to get married to your sister to carry on the Sakazaki family name!"

"YOU BASTARD!" Ryo shouted as he was dragged away by Leona, kicking and screaming in protest. "I'll rip your -"

"That's enough of that," Leona said as she dropped Ryo on his butt and walked away. "Now just shut up and fight."

* * *

Iori was growing frustrated as Yuri just wouldn't lay down and die… the Yagami fighter beginning to feel the wear and tear of battle, much to his chagrin.

In a full, all-out battle of attrition, Iori knew he would've won already. It was just that Yuri fought _defensively_, throwing up barricades and squeezing in cheap shots whenever she could. She was exploiting Iori's "all offense, all the time" strategy, and even though Yagami was still throttling her… but not without getting a decent beating of his own.

He charged at her, suddenly being blasted back by a Haoh-Sho-Koh-Ken and collapsing to the floor. As he hopped back to his teeth, something demonic glinted in his eyes.

No more toying around.

No more giving her openings.

"Grr… grawwwwww!" Iori screamed as he tackled her, bashing his fists into her over and over again without restraint, abandoning using his flames or slashing techniques for a straight-up battering… smashing his fists into her again and again and again and again…

And again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again.

When Iori suddenly regained consciousness and motor skills, he found himself standing and Yuri being carted away by emergency-room medics and Mai right in front of him, looking intense despite the fact her outfit left too little to the imagination.

_Terry was crazy to offer this guy a tournament entry…_ Mai thought as she looked at him. _In a year or two… he'd easily be a threat to Terry and Andy…_

She looked over at her lover, who looked worried about her… and suddenly Iori struck again with the same brutality that had crippled Yuri…

Only to get blasted off when Mai used her outfit as a focal point to manifest a flame. He charged yet again, ripping through a pair of fans Mai tossed at him before getting her in a chokehold and burning her with his purple flames and throwing her across the Howard Area's arena.

Mai got up quickly and reacted just as fast when Iori charged again… a sinister and malevolent smile appearing as she flew at him, pointing out with her elbow as her entire body caught on fire…

And tagged Iori straight in the Xiphoid Process. To be fair, it wasn't enough to snap the bone off and have it impale Iori's heart, but it certainly hurt the six foot tall fighter enough to cause him to slump over… before grabbing Mai by the throat and begin squeezing. To make matters worse, he lit her entire body on fire again mercilessly. Before Mai blacked out, however, she grabbed one of her fans from the inside of her outfit and stabbed it into Iori's gut. Being freed but nearing unconsciousness, Mai sprang back and slammed her burning elbow into Iori… yet another victim of the Super Deadly Ninja Bees.

Mai fell down onto her hands and knees as she tried to breathe. She'd be okay, but not in any period of time near enough for her to put up a good fight against Andy. She looked up, seeing her boyfriend in front of her with a confused look on his face. His hands were open as he looked down at her.

"I…" he looked over to the referee… "I can't do this. Match to Shiranui."

King and Eiji both dropped their jaws in utter shock as Yuri's voice, still a bit weak but clear and energetic echoed out of a tunnel, "YEAH! TAKE THAT!"

* * *

"There's one thing I'd like to know…" Ryo asked as he did some stretches for preparation. This would be his toughest fight yet, and he knew Heidern's strength surpassed not only Kyo's… but also that of Rugal Bernstein.

Heidern looked at him and shrugged. "What would that be?"

"How… how were you able to out-muscle Rugal last year? After all, he beat you almost instantly the first time you fought a long time ago… and that 'Orochi' power or whatever it is only made him stronger than that. So… how did you bridge the gap?"

Ralf and Clark looked at each other nervously, remembering seeing their commander on the floor, a bloody eye and even bloodier family on that fateful day.

Heidern just looked at Ryo and said something that shocked even Leona. "I trained myself brutally… never stopping because I saw the reminder of how much stronger I'd have to be every single day." He pointed up to his two eyes, Ryo being tempted to point out the fact Heidern was pointing to both his good eye and also his eyepatch, but he decided against it.

Instead they just charged, Ryo jumping to the side when Heidern used the Moon Slash chop across his entire body, the tip of Heidern's fingers ripping half of Ryo's gi off as if it were nothing. Heidern turned to face Ryo and immediately performed the Cross-Cutter, the projectile slamming into Ryo and knocking him away. Ryo recovered almost instantly, charging and striking with the Zanretsuken, managing to stop another Moon Slash by battering Heidern's wrist. A fierce uppercut sent Heidern flying, but as soon as Heidern saw the opening, he grabbed Ryo by the neck and attempted to break it.

Ryo managed to use enough torque to keep Heidern from doing anything painful and then used a fierce suplex on the mercenary. Unfortunately, Heidern spread his legs out and then buried his heels in Ryo's sides, kicking Ryo away and then grinning.

_He's good. Better than Takuma was when he was Ryo's age…_ Heidern thought as he sprang in the air again to unleash a Storm Bringer technique. Ryo countered with a flying uppercut, giving him the opening to unleash a Ryuko Ranbu on Heidern. _Really good…_

"Haoh-Sho-Koh-Ken!" Ryo shouted as the blast slammed into Heidern, knocking him away. Heidern flipped back to his feet and sprang back at Ryo, jumping a Koah-Ken and bending out of the way of Ryo's uppercut and grabbing him.

The audience looked on as the Final Bringer once again began sucking the very life out of Ryo, but the Kyokugenryu fighter did his best to fight back in the only way he knew how…

Angle his fall so Heidern landed first.

The impact knocked the wind out of the Ikari commander, giving Ryo the necessary seconds to get back his second wind and literally pray to God as he jumped up into the air.

_There's only one possible move that can take this guy down…_ Ryo thought as he channeled every ounce of strength he had. _I've seen dad do it a billion times… it just comes down to the question if I can do it or not… Hell… if I can punch my way through an Orochinagi, I can handle this._

Heidern looked to see Ryo gathering up his power and then blasting out with the most dreaded technique ever developed in Kyokugenryu…

"HAOH-SHI-KOH-KEN!" Ryo shouted as even Leona and Takuma were awestruck as Ryo managed to pull off the technique… barely, but he did.

The sheer destruction plowed into Heidern, doing the kind of damage to him that even Kyo's Orochinagi would be envious of.

The smoke cleared… Heidern unconscious and beaten, although when Ryo landed, he was arguably worse off.

"Well… looks I've gotta tie it up…" Clark said as he took off his sunglasses and wiped them before helping Heidern away.

"Fat chance," Robert said back.

A/N: The Ikari Warriors have suffered a tough loss in the opening round, and Clark must overpower one of Kyokugen's own when his commander was unable. And even if he manages to scrape out a win… can Ralf defeat the man that even scares Geese Howard in Galactica Phantom?

Omake Time!

Damn you, Frenchie La Femme! -or- Thank God We Still Have Eight More Years of Freedom

As Team Fatal Fury returned to Southtown, victorious and moving on to fight the Girlfriend Team, everything was working out for them. Geese headed back to return to his family, Lilly gave her students the rest of the day off, Joe could prep for fighting Mai next round.

Unfortunately for Mary and Billy… her air conditioner was shot. Rolling with the punches, Billy decided to head out, be the man, and begin a quest to the Devil Store… alternatively known as Wal-Mart to the masses that knew not of the threat that surpassed the Orochi, the Past Coming People, NESTS, and Addis in terms of worldwide power and evilnessisity.

Then again, this was Wal-Mart he was going to. He needed a legion of brave warriors to risk their very souls against the entities inside that realm… but who?

* * *

Meanwhile, White was grumbling as he looked at the petition in his hands.

_Dear Mr. White…_

_We here at Addis's R&D lab are tired of being stuck in a sweatshop. To be honest, so is every single Addis member save for yourself. We're tired of you hording the air conditioners to yourself... Sooooo… Here you will see all our signatures, demanding you get off your big, effeminate ass and do something about it._

_PLEASE DON'T TOUCH US AND MAKE US EXPLODE!_

He didn't expect to bump into a wall and began grumbling when another Englishman spoke up to him.

"Trouble with an air-conditioner?" came a voice as White turned to see Billy standing there.

"Oh, yeah. Going to Wal-Mart," White answered. "Same with you?"

Billy sighed. "Yeah… wanna team-up? I hear they added Baelrog recently."

White nodded as he started walking with Billy before asking a question. "Baelrog… you mean like the fire demon that Gandalf killed?"

"No… the creepy Spanish guy from Street Fighter."

"I thought he was the boxer."

"That's Capcom of USA switching the names around for you…"

* * *

After a brief discussion about whether Addis or NESTS was more sinister, in which White vehemently blabbed every secret of the organization to Billy, the two found themselves staring at a giant fiery tower.

"Hello there!" Billy shouted out, "We two are on a quest to seek air conditioners! Do you have any?"

Suddenly a French voice called out. "Yes, we have plenty!" Suddenly a white-haired man's head popped out from the top of the tower.

"Could you give us one?" White asked, only to see Ash nod.

"Sure! I'll drop it off for you!" Ash Crimson answered… right before tossing the giant machine onto the ground in front of them. It shattered into a billion pieces, much to White and Billy's sorrow.

"YOU BASTARD!" Billy screamed, pointing at Ash.

"I know I am!" Ash answered.

"Wait a second…" White said in a very confused manner. "Why is it that a French man that is likely gay working at a Wal-Mart when he's under employ to fight the Past Coming People?"

"Mind your own business, you stupid English kinigits!"

White and Billy looked at each other in a confused look before looking back up. "What the hell are you smoking, Ash? White it the current leader of one of the largest criminal organzations on the planet, and I'm Geese Howard's bodyguard!"

"Whatever. I FART IN YOUR GENERAL DIRECTION!"

White growled as he took off his gloves. "If you keep giving us this crap, we'll take this Wal-Mart by force!"

"Bring it!" Ash yelled back…

Right before Billy pole-vaulted him and White up to Ash's level and caused the Frenchman to scream in horror before running away.


	28. Galactica Phantom

A/N: Sorry for not updating sooner… I had other stuff to worry about. Anyways… on with the show! You know I don't own this, by the way.

The screams pierced the room as the young girl couldn't hold herself back anymore.

She ran through the door… seeing her brother standing there, his back sporting three claw-shaped scars on his back while blood flowed freely from them… with the tattered remains of their father's gi in his bloodied hands.

Hotaru felt the tears well up as she looked at her brother… how could they not? Her brother was standing there in a mess, looking at the ground in just as much shock. "He kept coming… kept attacking… I told him to stop…"

It was too much… both Futaba children cried together. What else was there to do?

* * *

Clark and Robert looked at each other as they prepared for battle. Robert, however, seemed more at ease. After all… if Ryo had managed to get a single opening against Heidern and exploit it enough for a win, how bad could the Ikari Warrior's resident grappling expert be?

Clark charged fast, however, and Robert barely managed to counter the rapid-fire Vulcan Punches with his own Geneikyaku kicking flurry. Fists and feet collided as neither fighter showed any sign of backing down… until Clark was knocked back, clutching his arms.

Robert, however, laughed as Clark groaned in pain. "Those kicks hurt, don't they?" He charged, kicking and punching Clark around mercilessly before settling with a Ryugekiken fireball that knocked the wind out of Clark and sent the fighter to his knees.

Clark, however, struggled to his feet and sidestepped Robert's next kick and grabbed Robert, throwing him up into the air and doing an Argentine Backbreaker. He threw Robert on the ground and slammed his elbow into Robert's gut as best he could before springing back. Catching his breath as Robert got back up, Clark returned the insult. "Hurts, doesn't it?"

"Yeah…" Robert answered, "But I've handled worse…"

"So've I."

"Stronger than _this_?" Robert asked as he suddenly dashed at Clark, the Ryuko Ranbu attack fully charged up at quality mercenary-defeating strength.

Robert had expected Clark to try to brace himself for impact… but instead Clark seemed to have abandoned all sense of defense and instead dove at Robert's legs, grabbing them out and tripping Robert. As the Invincible Dragon stumbled, Clark flipped back up, holding onto Robert's legs and flipping around, smashing Robert into the pavement before throwing him up in the air. As Robert fell down, he faced another round of Vulcan Punches, finally knocking him out.

"Winner!" Leona said as she pointed at her teammate, "Clark Steel!"

Ralf, however, suddenly got a whole lot more nervous as Takuma cracked his knuckles. "Way to go, Clark… if you would've lost, I wouldn't have had to worry about this…"

"Grow up, man!" Clark shouted back as Ralf stepped up to face the Sakazaki patriarch. "If I would've lost, then we would've been out of the tournament!"

Taking a deep breath, Ralf closed his eyes and soothed his often-brash personality. If he screwed up once… even _once_… Takuma would be in a position to do anything up to taking his life. Hell… even if he gave it his all… could he stand a chance against Takuma?

No. Brute force-wise, Ralf knew it would be impossible. Takuma was older, far stronger, and had much more fighting experience. Dammit… he actually _beat_ Geese Howard! The only way Ralf was even going to stand a chance was pacing himself… only swapping blows with this guy if he _knew_ Takuma would take more damage from the exchange than Ralf would.

"Ready?" Takuma asked. Ralf just looked at him, gulped, and sighed.

"No… but I'm not going to be any time soon…" Ralf answered.

Takuma just grinned and fired off a Koah-Ken that Ralf barely even saw coming. The Ikari managed to jump to the side, however, but Takuma was already there, planting his Kyokugen foot into Ralf's face. The Ikari was knocked back, but again Takuma was there before him, grabbing him from behind and slamming his knees into Ralf's back.

As Ralf rolled away to safety, he took the time on the ground for something productive, building the strength up in his arms, so when he got to his feet and charged at Takuma… trusting that using _that_ move without properly preparing it would still be enough.

Ralf's fist connected with Takuma's face intensely, sending Takuma flying away for the first time in a _long_ time.

Takuma felt that never in his life had he been hit so hard by one attack as the single punch inflicted as much damage on Takuma as he had dished out to Ralf. He staggered back, coughing up some blood as he looked back.

"It's a real man's punch," Ralf said while flexing his muscles.

"Indeed…" Takuma said, jumping up and tearing the entire Ikari arena apart with Koah-Kens, Ralf getting hit by plenty of them as he tried to dive for cover. Eventually realizing that would be impossible, Ralf did the best thing he could: trust his Vulcan punches to hold off the blasts. It still hurt a lot, but significantly less than Ralf had feared.

But suddenly Takuma was behind him again, kicking him in the back of the head. Ralf went flying sideways, and Takuma ran after him, sliding under the bandana-wearing fighter and planting his feet straight in Ralf's gut before unleashing a full born Haoh-Sho-Koh-Ken into him.

Ralf went flying across the arena, making a crater as he touched down. _It's hopeless… he's just too strong…_ After all… what did he have going for him? The whole "Power of Love and Friendship" didn't work for him… after all, Love and Friendship weren't bulletproof and Ralf had seen plenty of mercenaries go down thinking otherwise. But as Ralf struggled to stand on his shaky feet, another thought went through his mind.

He _wasn't_ one of those guys… he was an Ikari… and his whole job was about wiping out criminal organizations good enough that ordinary people didn't have to become like him and fast enough that people like him could become one of those ordinary people.

And besides, if Ryo had beat Heidern when the Kyokugen bastard was weaker than the commander, he still had a shot at this.

"You have a strong will to fight," Takuma laughed happily. "I just wish some of my students would get up after I'd beat them around that much!"

"They can't because you end up breaking their bones, dad," Ryo muttered.

Ralf screamed out as he thrusted his hand to the sky, flexing his muscles as much as he could. He pulled back for one last chance at victory… one last shot at beating Takuma focused into his left hand.

Takuma, however, just got into the stance for powering up the Haoh-Shi-Koh-Ken, and unlike Ryo's version, this one was tearing apart the very pavement with its oncoming force.

"Here it comes…" Ralf shouted out as he clenched his jaw shut. _There's no way I can outmuscle that blast! There's gotta be something else I can do!_ he thought as he turned for the windup.

"Haoh-Shi…"

"A real man's punch…" _That's it!_ Ralf thought as he looked down at both of his fists. _They're both just as beefed up at the moment!_

"Koh-Ken!" The unbelievable destructive blast knocked almost everyone over with its strength… Takuma had increased its yield several times over since using it against Geese, and his son's had been the tip of the iceberg of what the father's could do.

"GALACTICA PHANTOM!" Ralf yelled out… but instead of punching forward, he spun, praying that the extra bit of wind-up would be enough. He had no idea if he'd even move clear of the attack, and so he continued spinning and stepping to the side of the blast as fast as he could before he thought he'd gone enough.

Takuma's eyes went wide as he watched the Geese Howard-crushing blast miss by a single millimeter, Ralf suddenly rocketing at him and hitting Takuma with haymaker… the force rivaling that of Terry Bogard's Buster Wolf.

Time seemed to stop as Takuma seemed to take the attack in stride, Ralf giving up all hope of doing anything against the Kyokugen master. And then Takuma just grinned as he felt his legs get weak and said a single phrase. "Been awhile since I lost. Oh shit."

The spectators were speechless… Takuma Sakazaki _never_ lost a fight… _never!_ It was only slightly less likely than Heidern pulling away his eyepatch to reveal that his injured eye had fully recovered!

Suddenly Ralf raised his fist to the sky, yelling out "IKARIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!" as Team Ikari prepared to move to the next round for a rematch against Team Japan.

Next stop… Osaka!

* * *

Yuri, as bandaged as she was, couldn't tell if she was feeling happy that her team had won -chiefly because of Mai's shady affiliations, mind you- or depressed because her father and Robert had lost their matches in Brazil. Oh well… at least King kept a well stocked bar… and that "Duck King" guy was a pretty good disc jockey too.

"So… your big sister's been taking care of you all this time?" Yuri asked as she sipped her Shirley Temple next to King's younger brother, Jean. (A/N: Again, bad translation. What French couple names their kid 'Jan'?) Yuri remembered when she had first met Jean way back when she was just a kid. Back then, Jean had been pretty tiny, and to be fair… he'd grown up a bit, but nowhere near the modest five-foot-seven of his sister.

"Yeah…" he answered. "But I'm getting into college and can only see her on breaks, though. I just she'd start living for herself, you know. I mean, she loves this bar like nothing else, but she busts her butt so I can get a good education."

"You probably want her to get with my brother, eh?" Yuri asked coyly. "You have no idea how much my dad pressures him to just stop taking things at a slow pace…"

Suddenly somebody whapped her on the back of the head and Yuri looked back to see King staring at her. "I'll have you know that Ryo and I take things at a perfectly realistic pace. Whether we're comfortable with telling it to everybody is something entirely different. If we _did_, the your father would be shaking Robert by the ankles for enough money for a diamond ring the size of your thick Kyokugenryu skulls." She then lightened up and looked at Jean. "She annoying you?"

"Horribly."

"Well don't worry, you'll be getting a bit of extra entertainment soon." She looked over at Duck King and called him over.

"What's up?" he asked, King looking back and seeing the trail of baby chicks follow him.

"Two things. One… are those things sanitary?"

"I wash them twice a day."

King breathed a sigh of relief before continuing. "Good. And second… can you clear out all the equipment for later today? It's been requested we have the fight here. I've already asked Team Fatal Fury to mind try not to be too destructive. Thankfully Ge-" King stopped short when she looked at Yuri, "I mean, one of my previous employers offered to cover any damage his team would cause."

"No problem, boss… I could dig having the night off."

* * *

The bridge in Osaka was buzzing with news of Team Japan having a second fight in the arena, and nobody could contain his or her enthusiasm as the Ikari helicopter descended… Ralf and Clark stepping out before Heidern, who was still weathering the damage of the Haoh-Shi-Koh-Ken.

It was obvious who was going to fight this time, and Goro and Benimaru readied as Kyo sat back with Heidern.

"So… any leads on where Rugal is this time?" Kyo asked as Heidern nodded.

"We'll get your father back this time…"

"Good."

The fight started as Clark and Benimaru both prepared to fight each other, both ready to go all-out.

* * *

The crowds in La Illusion were cheering madly as Mai Shiranui… fully recovered from facing Iori Yagami, stepped out onto the large dance area. On the other side was Joe Higashi, who had been waiting for this fight for two whole years after being disqualified in '93 due to Andy's meddling.

"Your going down, bimbo!" Joe shouted as he pointed at Mai and tightened his headband. Mai, on the other hand, just fanned herself and gave the crowd the eye candy they wanted.

"Why you favor that flat-chested little bitch over me is beyond comprehension," Mai sighed as she readied her fans. "But you'll all pay for naming your group after Terry Bogard's hat!"

"What can I say?" Joe said as he sighed, enjoying the fact he was riling up Mai. "That 'flat-chested little bitch', as you called my loving girlfriend, thought it was a perfect insult. A way of telling Terry 'Hakkyokusieken is mine now, bastard!'"

Mai screamed as she charged, slashing with her fans. Joe knew he'd waited _way_ too long for this moment and deftly struck her in the forehead with a Tiger Knee. Mai recoiled, and despite her revealing outfit, Joe exploited the weak point without delay. Flurry after flurry of punches hit Mai before Joe kicked her from the side and knocked one of her knees out. Mai fell backwards, and again Joe attacked without mercy, using a Tiger Kick that connected with her chin.

Mai rolled to the ground… swearing she hadn't been prepared for this fight. Higashi was no fluke… and although he was probably the only competitor here who could claim his girlfriend could beat him up, that wasn't implying he was weak.

Mai suddenly sprang up, her robe igniting as she lit the sides of the ring on fire before charging. "YOU'RE DEAD, HIGASHI!"

She gracefully dodged Joe's next counted, grabbing him by the neck and igniting both of them on fire.

Joe fell to his knees, Mai grinning and expecting him to begin screaming next. Instead she saw him look up at her and grin. "Wow! These flames are like a billion times weaker then Billy's!"

Before she knew it, Joe had suddenly bulked up like the Incredible Hulk, striking her with a single punch that sent her flying across the area as a fierce wind kicked up. _Geese said it's nowhere near Goenitz's strength… but here goes…_

To be fair, it wasn't the same move that Goenitz used. Joe was no Serpent God of Wind, after all. But that didn't mean he couldn't improvise. Pulling back for a Screw Upper, Joe let it fly…

And nothing came out. Joe looked shocked as Mai laughed haughtily at him…

…Right before the tornado erupted from the ground beneath her and threw her up in the air… in a perfect position for another Tiger Knee.

Two figures fell to the ground, but in two different ways. One with almost ninja-like softness… the other landing with the thud of unconsciousness.

Ironically, Joe was the one with the ninja-softness.

Much of the audience booed Joe for his actions… but a decent number cheered, namely his team-mates…

Right before he caught a Surprise Rose clean to the face that knocked him down.

"Muay Thai vs. Muay Thai…" King said. "I had a bad experience with one of those bastards once… I hope you'll be a gentleman."

"Lilly likes it no other way," Joe answered as he got to his feet.

* * *

"YOU LOVESICK BASTARD!" Iori screamed as he threw Andy across the pavement. "ALL YOU HAD TO DO WAS KICK HER AND WE WOULD'VE ADVANCED! YOU FUCKING LOVESICK BASTARD!"

Andy barely got to his feet before Eiji was thrown on top of him.

"AND YOU!" Iori yelled, sending a purple wave of fire that enveloped both of them, "YOU DIRTY ROTTEN LOSER! YOU WERE FIGHTING SOME BITCH AND YOU BLEW IT TOO!"

Iori screamed in frustration before walking over to them and kicking them each for a solid five minutes, the Orochi power and anger fading away as he left the two on the street.

"Friends forever?" Andy coughed out.

"Till death," Eiji answered, equally in a daze.

The question was… where would they get their invites for next year?

Little did they know… off in South Korea… a certain Kim was cursing his lost bet and the necessity of team-mates… friends that he could be united with in their hatred of rivals…

A/N: Next chapter, Joe discovers just how much skill and power King packs into her kicks… and even when putting up a good fighter, Mary will have to carry the torch for her friends! In the meantime, Team Japan loses one of its finer when Benimaru's fight with Clark takes a tragic turn and Goro must carry on against a fired-up Ralf! But in the end… who will win the right to challenge Rugal Bernstein for The Title?


	29. The Title

A/N: I'm sorry for not updating, I've just got other work to deal with. Anyways… here's the next chapter.

Benimaru charged up his electricity again as he looked at Clark, both fighters charging and ready for battle. Seeing Clark charge at him, Benimaru threw himself on the ground, spinning on one hand as he feet battered the mercenary's head and then threw him away. Beni then went on the offensive, punching and kicking as fast as he could.

Clark, still a bit below full power from fighting Robert, had to stay on the defensive when a Raikoken shocked him back to his senses, and the Ikari returned the favor with a Vulcan punch flurry that Benimaru just barely dodged.

_He's gotten better,_ Benimaru thought as he backed off and regained his composure. _To be fair, however… so have I!_

The Muay Thai fighter waited for Clark to charge again and then ducked to the left, kicking Clark in the back and knocking him to the wall of the bridge they were fighting on. As Clark was knocked away, Benimaru jumped up in the air and shot down like a drill, pounding into Clark's legs and then landing one more Raikoken to win the match…

…before Clark slumped forward and Benimaru lost his balance and fell off the bridge.

"Beni!" Kyo shouted as he ran to try to grab his friend… but it was too late… and one of his best friends had fallen a solid twenty feet onto the hard road below.

Heidern also acted quickly, barking orders to the helicopter pilot as he sprang down to check on the fighter. After feeling around for any broken bones, he looked up at the shocked Kyo, Goro, Ralf, and Leona. "He's pretty banged up, but if we get him to a hospital, he should be okay…"

The noise of an ambulance came into hearing after a few minutes, with Heidern joining Kyo in riding with his friend before looking back at Goro.

"Daimon-san," Kyo said slowly, "Make us proud out there…"

The tall Judo fighter nodded silently as he watched his teammates drive away. He then turned to Ralf, who seemed to be acting different than his rash and outspoken self. Goro just raised his hand and shook his head.

"It was an accident… and your commander is doing everything he can…" Goro said as Ralf slowly nodded his head.

_Wow… this is one levelheaded guy…_ Ralf thought, _If that was one of the Ikaris that took that fall… I'd be freaking out and pissed off!_ Ralf took a deep breath and cracked his knuckles. "Okay… whoever wins this moves to the finals!"  
----------------------------------------  
All in all, King was very impressed with Joe's fighting form as she attacked the younger man, the Japanese fighter keeping up his defenses well even after being worn out from beating Mai. When King tried her Double Strike, he countered with a short-range Screw Upper that could withstand the attacks without dissolving. When King tried the Surprise Rose, she got hit by a Tiger Knee. Tornado Kicks were negated by Tiger Kicks. Trap Shots by TNT Punches.

The one advantage King _did_ have, however, was outright base strength and experience… and that was something Joe would need time to learn how to deal with… time he didn't have here.

And eventually, King kicked him in the side of the head and hit with the force to send him down sideways… except she had dropped down before him and kicked him back up before doing the same thing on the other side, like the world's most twisted metronome.

Finally stopping somewhere after doing this five times, Joe collapsed from his injuries. Worried that his girlfriend that had the nickname in some fighting circles as "Geese's Heir", Lilly Kane, would strike out against her, King looked around. Seeing Lilly, King breathed a sigh of relief when Lilly was clapping.

_Silly me… she's a fighter too… sorry Joe. It's nothing personal._

As Lilly's older brother helped carry Joe away, the last member of Team Fatal Fury stepped up to face King in a fight that got a number of the males in the audience to begin rooting madly…

"ALRIGHT! TWO HOT BLONDES GOING AT IT!" somebody shouted… right before Billy's staff whacked the pervert on the head and the group suddenly went quiet when they saw Lilly's Kane's garnet-red aura flaring up again, only to die down after the comments died down.

Taking a nice deep breath to clear her thoughts, King turned to Mary and grinned. "Alright… now where were we?"

The two charged, King leaping up into the air for another Surprise Rose as Mary shot up and countered with a kick aimed straight at her opponent.  
----------------------------------------  
Conscious though he was, Benimaru Nikaido was still in a lot of pain as he rested in a hospital bed, Kyo holding his hand when the door opened. He looked up to see Athena and Sie there.

"Kyo… what happened?" Athena asked as she had her younger partner looked in shock. "I heard on the news that-"

"Just an accident…" Kyo answered. "I just hope he'll make it-"

"You know… I've broken bones, not broken eardrums," Benimaru groaned as he looked at them. "Kyo… I'm sorry. I screwed up and now you've lost your only hope of winning this tournament. I don't know how you'll go on… but you must…. _Somehow!_"

_Vain as ever…_ Kyo thought as he walked out, seeing Athena look at him with a worried look before Kyo's flames automatically flared up again. He looked at Athena again before walking out and heading towards the elevator. As soon as he neared it, it opened to reveal Yuki inside.

"Kyo!" his girlfriend said in a worried tone. "I heard there was an accident! Are you alright?"

Kyo nodded as he focused on his flames and had them die down before Yuki noticed. "Oh, yeah. Beni just had a bad fall… but he should be okay in a bit. I'm heading back now to meet up with Goro…"

Yuki breathed a sigh of relief as she wrapped her arms around his and rested her head on his shoulder. "Well… I hope he gets better soon."

"Yeah…" Kyo said as he opened his mouth to say something and then stopped. "Yuki… what if you thought somebody you knew was hiding something from you…"

Yuki suddenly stood up straight and looked at Kyo while being very worried. "What do you mean?"

"I… don't know… it's just that sometimes when I'm around Athena… my flames act up without me wanting them too. They're only supposed to do that around the Orochi, however… and I don't understand that. I mean… she doesn't act like an Orochi…"

"She's Athena," Yuki said as she looked at Kyo and tried to comfort him. "She's weird sometimes with that fashion sense of hers, but she's perfectly normal. She might have psychic powers, but that's it."

"Thanks…" Kyo said as he looked at her and kissed her warmly, ignoring the split-second flickering of the lights in the elevator as it went down.  
----------------------------------------  
Spurred on by his success against Takuma Sakazaki (well… snatching victory from the jaws of defeat really…), Ralf had taken to the offensive nearly instantly, punching and kicking at the larger man without any break in this pattern. But when he tried another Vulcan Punch combo, Goro ducked down and grabbed out Ralf's legs and threw him into the ground before tossing him up into the air to land hard on the ground.

_Take it at your own pace…_ Goro thought as Ralf came back for another round of attacks. The big man blocked the first two punches and then grabbed Ralf's arms before kicking out his legs, again giving the Ikari a face full of pavement before scooping up Ralf and throwing him away again.

Rolling to a stop, Ralf grit his teeth as he pulled back, "GET READY… GALACTICA PHANTOM!"

The punch rocketed forward… but unlike against Takuma, Ralf hadn't done anything to give himself an opening… and although it hurt _a lot_, Goro managed to block the strike.

Ralf grinned as Goro slumped forward, just to then shoot up and head-butt Ralf in the chin. Being knocked skyward, Ralf could offer no resistance as Goro jumped in the air and threw the mercenary to the ground one last time and knocked him unconscious.

As the matched was declared for him, Goro punched up into the sky while letting out a grunt of victory… and (oddly enough) the sound of an explosion had burst out somewhere in the distance.

Perhaps Godzilla was angry his union membership had expired.  
----------------------------------------  
Although tired though she was from fighting Joe, King still managed to put up an excellent offensive against Blue Mary, even managing to escape the detective's Atami Nage-like technique once or twice.

WHAM! Another painful punch to the head knocked Mary back further before King jumped back. _Hard to believe that after losing to Team Kyokugen last year, we're going to make it to the finals!_ King thought as she pulled off another Tornado Kick.

Of course… Mary still had one ace up her sleeve as she charged at King, ducking and sliding underneath the attack before shooting up and hitting King in the chin with a flying kick. The two fighters flew in mid-air before they fell… and Mary made sure when they landed that her elbows smashed into King's gut.

The older woman kicked Mary off, however, and got to her feet. _Okay… that's the last time I just assume I'm going to win…_ King thought as she cracked her neck and took a deep breath before charging again with another Tornado Kick… this time Mary standing her ground.

Mary thought as she raised up an arm and leg for defense, _Let's hope this works…_

King's flying roundhouse kick smashed into her arm, and Mary screamed in the pain, but she still used the momentum for what she needed: to spin around and kick King right in the face. The force was incredible; enough to knock King out of the ring and into the crowd as Billy, Joe, and Mary cheered.

They'd done it… all three of them. Team Fatal Fury had proved itself worthy of entering the finals!  
----------------------------------------  
Goro and Kyo were loitering around Osaka for the third time during the tournament for Team Fatal Fury to arrive when a cheerful voice called out to them.

"WHAT? Am I the life of the team or something?"

Kyo turned to see Benimaru hobbling towards them on a pair of crutches. "What? You back on your feet already?"

Benimaru grinned coyly. "Sure… some sort of modern miracle or something. I'm still in no condition to fight but…" He handed Kyo an envelope.

Grabbing it quickly, Kyo ripped it open and read the contents.

_Kyo, I'm sorry about your friend and understand that although my team has plenty of blood on its hands, we refrain from lethal tactics in these tournaments. Nevertheless, I know that won't make up for the fact that your friend here is injured… despite the fact he's as much of a narcissistic bastard as ever. Whatever the case, my connection with two women working for Rugal has allowed a slight… _alteration_ to your team roster.  
Don't lose.  
Your teammate,  
Heidern_.

Kyo dropped his jaw after reading before suddenly feeling reinvigorated. _Maybe I should just have Benimaru get into an accident _every _year if I get that mercenary on my team…but I still gotta win first…_

"Hey, you guys ready?" shouted an English voice as Kyo turned to see Team Fatal Fury along with Lillith Kane standing there, ready to fight.

Kyo nodded as he handed the letter to Goro and walked forward as Billy did the same.

"Yeah, and don't take this personally, but I've gotta win this," Kyo said as cracked his neck and Billy gave his fingers a warm-up with his staff.

Billy just laughed a bit before stretching his calf muscles. "What do I care? The runner-up winnings are pretty good, I beat Kaphwan at his own game, and my best friend got to settle his demons from '93 this year too! So let's see which flames come out on top… those of my staff or those of your hands…"

Kyo nodded as they both charged, crimson flames erupting from both of the objects as Billy swung horizontally. Kyo bent back, but Billy repeated the technique until Kyo countered with the Yami Barai ground wave… which Billy pole-vaulted over and then pounded Kyo in the face.

"My little sister and my boss both have a move close enough to that…" Billy pointed out as he continued his offensive, his burning staff only being held back by Kyo's own flaming hands. Eventually, however, Kyo grabbed the weapon and then performed his anti-air Oni Yaki spin, using enough force to throw Billy's staff away.

Before, Billy would've panicked if something like this happened, but not this time! Instead of backing off, Billy let himself move with the spin and knee Kyo in the face. It dazed Kyo for a few precious seconds, but the Kusanagi fighter quickly grabbed Billy and engulfed him in crimson flames.

In pain but not incapacitated, Billy chopped at Kyo's temples before kicking out his legs. Kyo rolled away with another round of Yami Barai flares, this time hitting Billy and causing him to stumble.

Kyo wasted no time, instead sending a brutal flurry of punches from the San Shin Ki no Ichi that hit Billy full force. Kyo immediately chained it with two Orochinagi waves, blasting Billy halfway across the arena and onto the ground.

"Give up?" Kyo asked as Billy managed to get to his feet and reach out for something…

…His staff. Billy sure had a good sense of placement.

"What? After that?" Billy asked as he spun his staff a little bit. "Who do you think I am, Joe?"

"YOU BASTARD!" Joe screamed at his friend as Mary and Lilly had to keep him from running out into the fight.

Kyo looked at Joe for a moment before grinning. "Man. Robert on Kyokugen… King of Girlfriend… Joe on Fatal Fury and Beni on my team… Muay Thai sure is popular to fight with…"

"MY VERSION IS CALLED _SHOOTING_, YOU BASTARD!" Beni yelled out the correction while enraged, Goro holding him back as well.

"Wow… never thought of that before," Billy answered. "Well… shall we?"

"Gladly!'

The two charged again, Socket Flame super matching the Orochinagi before each move ran out of steam at about the same time. Billy quickly jumped into the air and then came smashing down with his staff, pitting its strength against another Oni Yaki. He still was knocked away, but not without inflicting some damage of his own.

Rolling back to his feet, Billy barely had any time to react before another Orochinagi was coming straight at him.

But he had all the time he needed to spin his staff VERY fast. The vacuum effect was noticed instantly, the vortex sucking in the flames as Billy added his own and charged at the shocked Kyo, whacking him again and again before using the Ultra Flame Whirlwind and cooking Kyo with the combined power of both their fires.

Kyo dropped to the ground, weakened and trying to catch his breath when he heard two voices call out to him.

"KYO!"

He looked up to see Athena and Yuki there… and his fire suddenly burst out of control again. Billy suddenly shot his staff forward, but Kyo reacted instantly, dodging to the side and sending a wave of fire down it that covered Billy with a heat that Kyo had never imagined he could produce.

While still holding onto the staff so he could keep Billy in one place, Kyo gathered up every bit of his strength as his entire body let off a yellow aura… the Orochinagi flame in his hand almost coiling around like an actual snake.

Billy took the blast full-force which send him careening into a building as his friends ran to help him up. Kyo quickly came to his senses and ran over too.

"You okay?" he asked anxiously, but there was no need to worry.

"I'll be fine…" Billy said as Joe helped him up. "But great job out there… I'm really going to have to keep training to beat you."

"Or at least one of the Kanes will have to," Lilly pointed out.

Kyo shrugged and walked back. "If that's the case…"

Team Japan left quietly, Kyo still looking at his hands and worrying. _Athena… just who are you _really_?  
_----------------------------------------  
Vice and Mature were busy sitting back in their offices on the Blacknoah when the door opened forcefully… Rugal glaring at both of them while Ana and Hermione were behind him with victorious looks on their faces.

The weapons dealer was handed a single picture, which he threw on Mature's desk… and Vice and Mature _knew_ they were dead.

It was one of their pictures with Chizuru and Leona…

"I don't have time to deal with you," Rugal growled as he walked away, "But Ana and Hermione wouldn't mind beating a pair of bitches to death."

The two secretaries leapt into the air and struck down, Vice and Mature barely ducking for cover in time.

A/N: Backed into a corner with no way out, Vice and Mature are forced to fight… only to discover that even though the Orochi's influence has been eradicated in them… its power hasn't! In the meantime, Kyo, Goro, and Heidern face off one more time against Rugal and the brainwashed Saisyu, with everything riding on Heidern's incredible power in End of Rugal.

P.S. I've decided to have a little poll just for fun… when you review, tell me which of the fights you liked the most! Why ask? Well why not?


	30. End of Rugal

A/N: Well… here it is. I've gotten over 100 reviews and this is my 30th chapter. So before I let Kyo, Goro, Heidern, Vice, and Mature beat the living shit out of Rugal, I'd like to say thank you to some very special people… _Evan Jones, Beni-kun, Fist of Nathan, Zaichik Arky, Damien Shepard, Nessaj, Erid, NoLogique, Bandit Revolver Prototype, 32Quetzal, Sanity's Eclipse, NumaNuma Panda, Darth Riven, Phil Urich, Yesterday Again, Tsukino Kage Spectre, Gaibomaster XP, SShock, _and _Tira-kun_. It was with your support and reviews I kept writing this… _you_ are my inspiration and I thank you for taking the time out of your lives to read this. And if I forgot you, I'm VERY sorry… with seven pages of reviews to go through, I might've missed somebody… but if I do, just tell me nicely and I'll add you.

Well… enough binter-banter! Time for the End of Rugal!

"They'll be coming soon, master," Saisyu said in his drugged state as both he and Rugal stared off into the sky, another one of the Ikari Warrior helicopters coming in quickly to the top of the Blacknoah.

"Yes… and I'll be sure Kyo shakes _this_ hand…" Rugal answered as he looked down at his cybernetic prosthetic.

"And what of the traitors?" Saisyu asked emotionlessly.

Rugal shrugged before looking down at his watch. "Oh… they'll be dead in about fifteen minutes…"

* * *

…But sometimes Rugal gave very generous assumptions… as Vice and Mature were experiencing as Ana tossed them across the room into Hermione's waiting arms, the black-haired secretary bashing Goenitz's associates' heads into the wall, trails of blood starting to appear from both of them. Hermione tossed Vice's woozy form back, and Ana laughed… 

…as she mercilessly snapped Vice's head back a full 180 degrees and tossed the limp body on the ground. Mature just looked as Vice's body collapsed, her hands clenched so tight that blood was trickling from her palms.

"You goddamn bitches…" she growled as she looked up at them. "I AM GOING TO KILL YOU GODDAMN BITCHES FOR THAT!"

She suddenly felt Hermione's knee slamming into her back which knocked her to the ground as Ana slowly strolled up to her.

"Aw… we kill your girlfriend or something?" the redhead asked as she removed her right hand's glove and rolled up her sleeve, showing the robotic limb she now had… yet another mark of her undying loyalty to Rugal Bernstein. "This arm can do more than just snap bodies… it can crush them too… Hermione?"

"Certainly," the other secretary answered as she pulled Mature up and held her in an arm lock… the blonde unable to struggle effectively as Ana grabbed Mature's head and began applying pressure.

The pain was… well it was something that transcended anything somebody could inflict with flesh and bone, and Mature was in no position to stop it. Things were going black very quickly, and she was beginning to hate the fact that even if she somehow scraped her way out of this, Vice was dead.

"YOU GET AWAY FROM HER!" came a vicious and yet instantly familiar voice as Ana was punched in the side of the head… and standing there in a very limp stance… was Vice.

_Celia…_ Mature thought as she used Hermione's slight shock against her, spinning in the air and… _somehow_… ripping at the woman's clothes and skin with her fingers. _What? Orochi power?_ she thought as she looked down at her hands. _But… why aren't we psycho or anything then?_

"You okay?" Vice asked as she looked at Mature and then at the recovering Ana and Hermione.

"I was more worried about you," Mature answered.

"What… with _this _kind of flexibility?" Vice asked before she grabbed her right hand's fingers and bent them back all the way so her nails were touching the top of her hand before letting the move back to their natural position and wiggled her fingers. "Nothing serious…"

"Okay then," Mature said as she looked at Ana and Hermione and took a deep breath. "Remember those techniques we used against Maki back when we were homicidal?"

"How could I forget…" Vice sighed.

Then they let their right hands hang limp in perfect synchronization and let them lash out, their arms covering the distances instantly with the "Decide" technique. Ana and Hermione got their legs pulled out from under them and they were flung at Vice and Mature, the former kicking forward ruthlessly while the latter send an energy wave at her enemy.

* * *

As the Ikari Warrior helicopter slowly landed again on the Blacknoah, Kyo stepped out first and looked around the aircraft carrier's surface. The setting sun was still enough to illuminate the top, and he clearly saw his father standing only twenty feet away. 

"Kyo…" Heidern started to say as he stepped out of the helicopter after Goro, but Kyo raised his hand up.

"Go ahead. Goro and I will knock him back to his senses," Kyo answered. "Rugal Bernstein has ruined your life more than he's ruined mine… just save a piece of the action for me."

"He's under the influeoce of a drug produced by a man named Gordon Wyler… its effects are temporary, and even shorter when the subject is exerting themselves… Kyo, do what I couldn't and save your family," Heidern agreed and ran off… knowing this time Rugal Bernstein wouldn't be able to hide behind any dead bodies.

In the meantime, Kyo and Goro stared at Saisyu, both sides preparing to fight…

…and then they went at it, fiery streams covering the ground as Goro leapt into the air and kicked at Saisyu. The elder Kusanagi quickly countered with the Oni Yaki anti-air move, but he was suddenly grabbed by a charging Kyo who grabbed him by the neck and lit him on fire. The force of the attack blasted Saisyu away, but as he landed Goro grabbed him threw him around ruthlessly.

As Saisyu got up, he wiped the blood from his mouth as his crimson flames covered his arms. "You fool… even if you defeat me, Master Rugal will still get the last laugh…"

* * *

Heidern ran down the staircases quickly, finally stopping in front of a giant, stainless steel door with the letter "R" on it. 

_That won't happen again!_ Heidern thought while he clenched his fists and ran into the below-deck arena, seeing Rugal standing there with a slightly amused look.

"RUGAL!" Heidern shouted as he charged, planting an unbelievable haymaker into the other man which knocked him into the wall.

"That all you got?" Rugal taunted as he flipped back to his feet and performed the Genocide Cutter technique, first shooting at Heidern and then stringing kick after kick with no opening given. As soon as the technique ended, however, Heidern grabbed Rugal's leg, but unfortunately got the other slammed down into his head. Slightly dazed, Heidern was unable to block the next round of Genocide Cutting, which resulted in Heidern being blasted into the wall and leaving a considerable indentation. "My power has grown since last year… that fluke victory of yours will not happen again."

As Heidern rose to his feet, however, he began quietly laughing. "It wasn't a fluke… it was revenge… just as this is. And there was one thing that I looked at every day that kept me going. Do you know what it was?"

Rugal dryly responded, "The bloated corpses of your idiot wife and daughter?"

"On the contrary," Heidern answered as he reached up to his eyepatch and tore it away… revealing a perfectly recovered eye, "Recover treatment took a long time, but I was determined not to lose something else to you. And it was staring into the blank darkness of the inside of that patch, PROMISING MYSELF I WOULD NOT FALL TO SOME METAPHORICAL VOID OF DARKNESS AND INSTEAD TRAIN MYSELF EVERY DAY FOR MY CHANCE TO KILL YOU!"

Heidern charged, jumping over the green flames that Rugal shot at him and grabbed Rugal by the neck, spinning around and kicking him in the back and then the knees. He then smashed his fists into the sides of Rugal's ribcage, and the villain screamed in agony as the bones snapped off and impaled some of his vital organs. Heidern then chopped down, his hand tearing through skin and clothes effortlessly and leaving Rugal with an obscenely long bleeding mark before Heidern jumped away.

_NO! _Rugal thought as he struggled to his feet, _I will NOT be killed by some ant like this mercenary!_ Rugal screamed out again as the green flames enveloped him completely, his hair turning white as the Greek symbol "Omega" appeared on his back…

* * *

"JUST DIE!" Ana screamed in frustration as Vice was caused to nearly double over as the cybernetic appendage slammed into her gut… but Ana was learning just how dangerous Orochi power could be when it was being used by somebody that _wasn't_ your boss. 

Vice slammed her shoulder into her adversary, knocking Ana into the air and then jumping up to meet her before slamming her back into the ground. A quick look over to Mature showed the blonde was beating, well, actually _slicing_, Hermione to ribbons with incredible speed.

"Oh, I'll probably die sooner or later," Vice finally answered in a surprisingly cheerful tone as she grabbed Ana and repeatedly pounded her head into the ground before jumping high into the air and landing one last time, the impact strong enough to blast a hole through the Blacknoah upwards from the image of a pillar with a skull in it. "Well, I've gotta go, there're no more bones to break… so I say goodbye," she said as she looked down at the battered and broken Ana, "But I say it with a smile."

Mature likewise had the fight in the bag, and to add insult to injury, she was using Rugal's "Gigantic Pressure" technique to boot… grabbing Hermione by the neck and running with her into a wall before slamming her into it as another pillar with a skull in it shot up.

"They dead?" Vice asked to Mature who wiped the blood from her hands off on Hermione's dress.

"Nah, just pretty close…" she answered before running off, "Now let's try to find our former boss so we can beat his ass in!"

"Gladly."

…right before they say something fall from one of the holes.

* * *

Kyo and Goro were knocked away again by the incredible force of Saisyu's Orochinagi, and yet the both managed to get to their feet as they tried to figure out a way to win. 

"We'll need an opening…" Goro muttered as Saisyu waited for them to make their next move…

…and an opening they _got_, as a giant grey pillar blasted from below into Saisyu, knocking him into the air as a second fired up nearby, Saisyu caught in its blast radius as well.

Kyo took no chances. He'd get his dad back here, or lose him forever. He ran at the still airborne Kusanagi and jumped up after him, Orochinagi wave prepared to burn...

…And burn it did, bathing Saisyu in an unbelievable crimson blaze before they both fell down, Saisyu incapacitated and Kyo needing more time for recovery. And yet Goro simply plucked them both out of the air, and Saisyu's eyelids twitched as he looked at Kyo and Goro differently. "Kyo? Daimon?"

"Dad!" Kyo shouted joyfully as he reached out to hug his dad… forgetting he was holding on to Goro and inadvertently falling below decks due to the opening caused by Vice and Mature.

"Kyo!" the revived Saisyu shouted out before somebody else shouted back.

"It's okay! I caught him!" Which was followed by a quiet muttering of, "Damn he's heavy…"

* * *

Heidern and Rugal charged again, their right hands colliding with titanic force, although Heidern almost immediately started to lose ground to the strength of the cybernetic attachment Rugal was using. 

Rugal grinned as he almost forced Heidern to the ground, only to be taken back as Heidern rocketed back up and effortlessly snapped off the entire robotic limb before doing a point-blank Cross Cutter that sent Rugal flying into a wall…

…but the far-reaching arms of Vice and Mature grabbed him back as Kyo jumped at Rugal from above, blasting him with another Orochinagi as Heidern cut the front of his body up with another slash of his hands.

Blood spurting out everywhere, Rugal could only say one thing as he collapsed to the ground…

"Dammit."

"He dead?" Mature asked as Kyo looked at the corpse and kicked the head once… to which it went flying off the body.

"Guess that settles that…" Heidern said as he walked away with Kyo. Before the younger fighter went through the door, however, he stopped and looked at Vice and Mature.

"What… what about you?"

"What else?" Mature answered, "We finally get to go back to having lives of our own now we don't have to worry about keeping an eye on this bastard!"

"But… aren't you Orochi?"

"Honestly, what does that have to do with anything?" Vice said as she walked away. "It's not like we're homicidal or anything, so just leave well-enough alone!"

"She always like that?" Kyo asked, to which Mature answered honestly. "Whatever… thanks anyways…" He then ran of, being stopped again as a briefcase was slid against him.

"Tournament winnings…" Vice plainly stated.

* * *

"So… how much does Shizuka know?" Saisyu asked as he and Kyo walked home, Team Japan again victorious for the second year in a row and with a considerably larger set of winnings. 

"Not much… I felt it'd be better if you dealt with that…" Kyo answered as a loud voice came from the home."

"BUT HOW DO I LOSE? I HAVE THREE ACES AND TWO KINGS AND YOU HAVE FOUR TWOS!" that was Shizuka, alright…

…and there went Eiji, being thrown through the paper-thin door into a tree.

"I still can't believe he teamed up with a Yagami…" Kyo shook his head sadly as the Kisaragi ninja crawled away, clutching his massive winnings which made up for the fact his team fared pretty badly in the tournament.

"Whatever…" Saisyu said as he looked up at Shizuka happily…

…It was good to be home.

* * *

Athena sat down at her desk at home, wondering what to do. She had a month off from Master Gentsai, school wasn't starting for a couple of weeks, Sie had headed back to China, and Yuki was on a date with Kyo. 

To be fair, she really didn't even want to train at the moment…

_Kyo… oh, what's the use… The only way I'm going to be able to get on my life is if I just get it out…_

Taking out a notebook and grabbing a pen, Athena did something that would lead to greatness…

She started writing a song.

* * *

"The tournament could've gone better for us," Terry Bogard sighed as he sat over a chessboard, playing against his brother. 

"Then…"

"Finding out about the strength Yagami has is an excellent consolation prize," Terry answered, "As for you… fighting against Mai could've lead to a schism in the Shiranui ranks… better we not try to push our luck."

"Thanks for understanding," Andy said. "So what's the next move?"

Terry grinned as he moved his bishop into position. "Checkmate." Again, he had won the game without losing a single piece… just like his plan for Southtown would go… "Our next plan is for myself to enter the next tournament… you have the entries?"

"Kaphwan dropped by with them not long ago."

Terry grinned, "Good. Provided something in Southtown doesn't spring up, expect me in the next King of Fighters."

* * *

It was another day at the digging sight as Cheng Sinzan wiped the sweat from his brow in the blistering sun. They'd been out here digging for the past month with nothing yet, but… 

CLANK! Cheng realized he hit something hard, and so he grabbed a brush and swept away the extra sand and dust before he found the edges of the bock. Finally… his first find! Cheng called over his crew and slowly lifted it up, finding it to be a small chest. Opening it up, Cheng sported a wide smile as he lifted up the three objects.

"At long last… the Sacred Jin Scrolls!"

A/N: With Rugal dead and the Blacknoah dead in the water… one ordeal of our heroes is over… yet another is about to rise up as a childhood friend of Robert Garcia needs his help. Not only that, but the Ikari Warriors will be dragged into the action… and a little light will be shed on the Momentum of Wills in the Hunt for Wyler miniseries!

P.S. I have NO idea if Wyler's first name is Gordon… but hey, this is my story, and you can only have so many one-name person people… and I've already got plenty.

Enough of this crap… it's about time to have an Omake!

All the DoA Bashing Makes Baby Tomonobu Itagaki Cry -or- I'M THE REAL KASUMI, DAMMIT!

"So your boyfriend… is the one that beat up my father… way back in the… seventies?" A girl in her twenties asked in very broken English while flipping through a Japanese-to-English guide.

"To be fair, he beat the crap out of me too…" King sighed as she slid another drink down the bar to the girl. "Ryo's still a pretty nice guy though…"

"I'm sure he is," Kasumi Todoh sighed as she took a sip before the bar doors opened and Duck King dropped his jaw in shock.

"Oh shit… here come the Dead or Alive bimbo…" King groaned as she looked at the ground and shook her head in pain.

"Great," Todoh (the girl, not the father… I'm trying to avoid confusing the two Kasumis here) muttered quietly, "The stupid girl that has my name…"

But it wasn't quiet enough, as DoA Kasumi's insane and overdone ninja powers alerted her to the threat.

"DON'T MESS WITH ME! I'VE GOT MULTIPLE PERSONAILITY DISORDER!" the ninja screamed as she pointed at the other that shared her namesake.

Todoh sighed as she chucked her translator book at the ninja. "Here you go… learn some different phrases besides 'I'm sorry… it's all my fault' and 'I'LL KILL YOU, RAIDOU'!"

The Temco fighter suddenly became enraged, shaking her fist. "I WARNED YOU, DAMMIT! NEVER MESS WITH A BOUNCY, OVERPOWERED, MARY SUE-ESQUE NINJA!" She launched her best punch at Todoh, who was reading a pamphlet by Geese Howard.

_So THAT'S how you do the Atami Nage!_ Todoh thought as she raised her hands and effortlessly stopped the attack. "Um… King? What's the next part? I've got my hands full…"

King picked up the article and quickly scanned it. "Oh… now you're supposed to say something like 'Predictable' and throw her to the ground for a bunch of damage…"

"You sure?" Todoh asked as the ninja screamed and struggled without success.

"Yeah… there's a testimony by Lilly Kane at the bottom."

"Sounds good enough, then!" Todoh said as she flung her adversary out the door… inadvertently right at Joe and Lilly as they walked in.

Twenty seconds later, a NASA satellite detected something being launched into space by what appeared to be an intense blast of wind and energy.


	31. HfW1: Setting the Stage

A/N: Yes, I know. It's been a long time since my last update. It was long for me too, with Senior year of high school starting, having to get ads for Newspaper for a grade, AND juggle three hard-as-hell AP courses at the same time. That, and I've been watching Saint Seiya episodes in Japanese/Spanish and trying to figure out what's going on… not to mention updating my Street Fighter/Darkstalkers/Original Fiction crossover.

Disclaimer: I don't own this, but if I did, I'd have a lovely Capcom vs. SNK game with my original characters in it too. I see it now…

Mai: (walks up to my anti-ninja female character Miki Owikamki) Hey, are you a ninja?

Miki: No, and they're all stupid.

Mai: Oomph! I guess I know who I'm going to kill now!

"DIE, FLOOZY!" STAB! RIP! PLOP! PLOP!

At that point, Mai would be carried away by paramedics due to a certain Darkinarki's obsidian katars cutting out a certain bimbo's mammary glands.

Hey, it's either say that, or discuss a couple dirty Shoujo-ai relationships and the awesome nookie action that would result in the banning of this account…

…Oddly enough, I'd take the ol' stabby goodness over anybody I can think of, excluding Mai and the floozies from Dead or Alive, going at it like rabbits.

Call me a pervert, but I do have (twisted) standards and I'd make it be coherent and as logical as a massive orgy scene could possibly be.

But enough drooling over the keyboard! Onto the "Hunt for Wyler" mini arc!  
---------------------  
"I really don't get it," Maki said in confusion as she sat in a room with Goenitz, both of them utterly baffled by what had happened at the end of the King of Fighters '95. "I looked into them… and there was no trace of the Orochi, either its power or its influence!"

"And now they have the power but not the influence," Goenitz said as he sighed. "Whatever the case, we should just stop worrying, after all, we're guests here."

No sooner had the words escaped from Leopold's lips, than the doors opened and Geese was standing there. Believing himself to not be in the realm of serious fighting anytime soon (ironic, too) Geese had again let his hair grow out to a decent length, although not as long at it had been back in the eighties.

Geese still shuddered at the thought of how he looked back then.

"Sorry about that, the sparring with Lilly gets harder every day," Geese said as he wiped the sweat from his brow. "Her strength increases so quickly… another year and she'll surpass her brother. Another five or six…" he shuddered to think about it.

"Is it possible she could be a Serpent God?" Maki asked. She had seen Lilly Kane first hand upon arriving, an inhuman strength that lay hidden under the seemingly nonexistent muscles.

Geese and Goenitz almost shook their heads in synchronization.

"Known her too long," the American said while Leopold concurred.

"Besides, Lilly's techniques follow no motif of any of the four unaccounted for Serpent Gods, Life, Death, Darkness, or Light," Goenitz added.

"If that's the case," Maki said as she stood up, "I guess all we can do is wait. But then again…" she smiled as Marie stepped into view, telling Geese that Rock was asleep now, "We _did_ come for a nice visit and to celebrate your ninth anniversary, after all."  
---------------------  
Elsewhere in Southtown, Ryo and King were sitting on a couch together, the latter snuggling next to the Kyokugen fighter and with her arms around his waist.

It was sad that with over five hundred channels, there was still nothing was good on TV. "Whatever," Ryo sighed as he clicked off the television and turned to look at King. Their last sparring match just a few hours ago had left them both without the desire to fight again, and the only decisive outcome of the fight was that they had both ended up with torn shirts.

He hadn't expected King to take some serious initiative and kiss him. Not like he was complaining, they had kissed plenty of times before, and occasionally with a lot more force than right now. Ryo smoothly pulled King closer; despite his ragged appearance, King knew Ryo could be _exceptionally_ smooth when the need arose.

A scream killed the moment, however, and Ryo and King broke the embrace seconds before Yuri burst in, tears streaming down her face.

"It's Robert!" she cried out as she turned on Ryo's television, setting it to a news channel. King and Ryo were awestruck at the headline the group was covering right now…

"_Robert Garcia… A Secret Affair?"_

The story kept showing the same amateur video of Robert at a open restaurant in Mexico talking with a young woman, both of them trying to look inconspicuous when Robert suddenly turned and saw whoever was filming them. He began yelling something in Spanish and charged the man, which was where the video ended.

"No doubt Robert's longtime sweetheart Yuri Sakazaki is taking the news more painful than any punch he sent at her in sparring," the newscaster said before they cut to a commercial.

Yuri then stormed out while sobbing madly, deciding to take out her aggression and frustration on some of the new recruits… that Marco Rodriguez guy in particular… he'd put up with most of Kyokugenryu's abuse so far without hinting he couldn't take it…

But the phone suddenly rang and King grabbed it. "Hello? May I ask who is speaking? Leona _Heidern? But…_ oh, he adopted you… yes, I'll put Ryo on." She handed it to Ryo, wondering why one of the Ikari Warriors would bother calling him."

"Yes?" Ryo asked, the voice of a girl not yet sixteen coming through.

"Hello Ryo," Leona said on the other side. "I'm assuming you stumbled across the news story concerning Robert?"

"Yeah," Ryo said, "But what would mercenaries have to do with this?"

"Quite a bit… and I assure you that the girl that Robert was shown with was nothing more than a friend he knew since childhood. He even went to visit her in Mexico last year, although this year things went different. Approximately fifteen minutes ago, we received a phone call from a man from the Garcia Foundation named Karmen Cole. He explained everything and requested our assistance."

"But why? This isn't even a missing person's case," Ryo said in a confused manner.

A long sigh came from the other side. "Because," Leona answered, "Freia Lawrence, the girl you saw… is the daughter of the partner of Gordon Wyler… the man responsible for Rugal's ability to control Saisyu Kusanagi."  
---------------------  
The Brazilian base of the Ikari Warriors was abuzz as Leona Heidern received her orders along with Ralf and Clark, still dumbfounded at the fact that Heidern had lived so many years of his life with that unneeded eyepatch. What was more… she still had yet to understand _how_ he had gained so much strength without a drop of Serpent God blood in his veins…

"Now things are going to be a bit different for you three," Heidern said as he looked at them sternly, but with a hint of concern in his voice. "I'm good friends with Takuma, and had Leona give the dojo a call about the situation. No doubt at least one member of Kyokugen will also be searching for Robert, and that is perfectly fine. Work with them, give them any information they will need, and treat them as your own. If you have the opportunity to go after Wyler, then that is also permissible, just know that the Mexican government is only granting us the right to go after Wyler and his organization, no other hostile actions to any other group may be traced back here under any circumstances. Clear?"

"Yes, sir!" the three shouted in unison before running off to their flight.

Heidern watched as they boarded the plane and then shot off into the sky, two eyes looking out, only one looking out three months ago.

"Lead them well, Leona… and don't worry, Takuma and Saisyu… we'll each do our part in letting the younger generations prove themselves…"  
---------------------  
It was midnight as Robert Garcia looked out the window of the hotel room in Mexico while Freia slept in an adjacent room… Robert looking out for more than just the purpose of metaphorical musing.

You're out there… I know you are… 

…_Kisaragi…_

Eiji had been stopped dead in his tracks not too long ago due to King's skillful fighting in The King of Fighters '95… but it wouldn't always be that way.

In the King of Fighters 1980, Robert had faced him in the opening round, and suffered a savage beating when Eiji managed to reflect a Haoh-Sho-Koh-Ken right back at him. The ninja had come close to taking his life, only being stopped by the timely arrival of Ryo… the allure of battling a Sakazaki Kyokugen practitioner overriding the instinct to kill Robert without delay.

Ryo, knowing not to rely on the trademark projectile all Kyokugen fighters through Robert's warning, managed to turn the tide and beat the ninja around like a rag doll over the course of _three_ Ryuko Ranbu attacks. Needless to say, Eiji had been hospital bound for a good, _long_ time.

And knowing what had just been shown… he expected Eiji to rear his ugly head sooner or later…

And no doubt Gordon Wyler wouldn't let his former partner's daughter just get away now that he knew that she had been a childhood friend with Robert Garcia. The only choice now was to take the fight to Wyler himself.

But he'd stop Wyler, Goddammit… Freia wasn't going to have anything to do with him.  
---------------------  
But Eiji was not the only ninja that had set foot within Mexico… and a much larger one with a shroud over his head had just one thing on his mind: revenge.

Jin Fuha clenched his fist as he recalled the horrible incident involving a mad crowd of Capcom aficionados…

_I have no master…_ he thought.  
---------------------  
"Robert…" Yuri whispered as she and Ryo sat in a commercial airplane heading off to Mexico with the intention of finding Robert, if only for his own safety.

Ryo put a hand on her shoulder in comfort. "It's okay… he can take care of himself long enough for us to get to him."

Yuri seemed to cheer up a bit… but didn't expect to hear somebody else speak up behind her.

"Garcia is far stronger than he was when I faced him."

Yuri and Ryo turned around, completely amazed at who they say there.

"He's not dressed like Strider Hiryu!" Yuri said in shock, almost causing Eiji to slump in embarrassment.

"Kisaragi… what are you doing here?" Ryo growled… although he unclenched his fists almost immediately after saying that. If Eiji had wanted to slit their throats out, he certainly could've found a way.

The ninja himself was merely wearing a blue sleeveless shirt and pants and shrugged. "Garcia is in danger and I'd prefer not worrying about Wyler as well."

"You're not here under orders of Bogard?" Ryo asked, not expecting Eiji to burst out laughing.

"Please! Considering the way the King of Fighters tournaments are organized, its possible I'd never get a shot at fighting any of you, so Bogard has to pay me top dollar for my services."

"And he has you kill us all off here, he loses a possible team-mate for good…" Ryo concluded.

"Exactly," Eiji answered, "Although after that last beating by Yamazaki, I'm starting to people get over-zealous from all these feuds. Plus… I have a former student to knock some sense into… But make no mistake! I, Eiji Kisaragi, am not an ally to Kyokugenryu!"

"Aw…" Yuri said as she turned around and began poking Eiji in the cheek, "Isn't that cute… a ninja making a dramatic yet pointless speech…"

"Stop it!" Eiji grunted out before shaking his head in sorrow.

"Fine," Ryo answered, realizing how much of a joke this guy could be in the right circumstances, "But if we ever stop by at a bar and have a discussion about something… you have to pay the bill."  
---------------------  
"Uh, how's this?" Freia asked as Robert took a look at her in a black baseball cap and shirt with a backpack. She certainly wouldn't stick out too much now, although Robert himself maintained his trademark ponytail and outfit due to stubbornness. Considering he was a master of Kyokugenryu, he could afford to be noticeable in a crowd.

"Looks fine," Robert answered as he looked out. He had half expected for some agent of Wyler's to have tracked them down already, but that hadn't happened. Taking Freia's hand to guide her, the girl smiled sadly and looked back at Robert.

"I'm sorry, Robert," she said as she looked down at the ground. "I know you have a significant other in your life… and I don't know how she'll react to this…"

Robert helped her up and opened the door for her. "I love Yuri, but that's no reason to not be chivalrous to other women in my life."  
---------------------  
_They'll come…_ thought a dark-skinned woman as she sat on a bench while doing a crossword. Her namesake weapon was hidden away but close, her purple and white baggy clothes had been exchanged for that of the disguise of a businesswoman working on a crossword puzzle… but she was still Sinclair, and she was following orders.

_Garcia will take the 10:30 train… I know how he thinks…_ the recently employed military man had said. Sure enough, Sinclair checked her clock. Another five minutes…

"Oh!" shouted the voice of a woman nearby. Sinclair turned to see a woman, probably in her mid-twenties… early thirties at the latest and wearing a _hakama_ of all things, looking at her. "You do the… uh…" she immediately popped out a quick Japanese-to-English dictionary before finishing, "Word searches?"

Sinclair nodded with annoyance before noticing both Robert Garcia and who she assumed to be Freia. She started to stand up when the woman in the hakama beat her to the punch…

…Literally.

Robert staggered back a bit before looking at the woman, more confused than enraged.

"Garcia Robert!" she shouted while pointing a finger at him, "I am here to recover my family's honor!"

"That's all well and good," he said while looking at her. "But… who are you?"

The woman looked baffled before checking her dictionary again, "Don't you remember? The hakama… the headband… _this_ move?" She brought her hands down as a short-range wave of energy popped up. She expected Robert to realize what was going on, but he was still dumbfounded. "Does the name Todoh ding a triangle then?"

"Don't you mean ring a bell?" Robert asked before the name finally sunk in. _Todoh!_ "You mean you're the daughter of-"

"Yes!" Kasumi Todoh shouted, glad this fight could be underway finally. "I am the daughter of the great-"

"I can't believe that loser could find somebody willing to have a kid with him!" Robert said as he turned back to Freia. "Don't worry, this won't be l-"

He stopped speaking as both Kasumi and Robert saw the woman that had previously been on the bench holding a giant scimitar to Freia's neck. At the hint of movement by Robert, Sinclair smashed the pommel of her sword into Freia's head to knock her unconscious and then threw her sword at him with perfect accuracy, the sword spinning in midair and striking Robert with the pommel as well with nearly bone-crushing force. Stunned for the critical seconds, Robert was unable to stop Sinclair from punching him in the stomach and knocking him unconscious.

"Pathetic," Sinclair muttered as threw Freia over one shoulder and then walking up to Robert, blocking the charging Kasumi's punch and kicking her into a tree before sheathing her sword and then picking up Robert. Deciding she didn't have time to deal with some inept Aikido fighter.

_Nobody can hit like that on his or her own, _Kasumi thought as she struggled to her feet, seeing Sinclair was gone.  
---------------------  
Eiji, Ryo, and Yuri stepped off the plane together, they noticed three familiar faces waiting for them in the terminal. Walking up to them, Ryo shook Leona's, Ralf's, and Clark's hands in friendship. "Thanks for the help," he said. "This is my sister and he's-"

"Eiji Kisaragi," the ninja said while bowing. "I honestly must take notes from the team that managed to defeat Team Kyokugenryu sometime."

"Well then," Leona said as the six headed off, "We've got a lot of ground to check… so let's get going!"

Ryo clenched his fist as they ran off, not knowing where to go or who to talk to… _But we'll find you Robert… we'll find you and take down Wyler together!_

A/N: Kasumi Todoh and Jin Fuha… two enemies of Kyokugen that desire to see the defeat of Ryo Sakazaki… but when they finally have the chance, they show how different they are otherwise. Can Kyokugenryu and the Ikaris find Wyler? Will Fuha exact his revenge against Eiji? Find out in Ninja vs. Ninja!


	32. HfW2: Ninja vs Ninja

A/N: Well… Wyler will have his hands full by the end of the chapter… but that's for everyone else to find out.

Bwa…Bwa… BWAHAHAHAHAHAH!  
---------------------------------  
As Robert slowly opened his eyes, he discovered he had been stripped down to his boxers and lying on a table in what appeared to be a lab. Looking around, he saw a doctor in the corner who looked at Robert with shock.

_Oh dear… the sedatives must've lasted shorter than planned…_ were the only thought in the man's head before Robert knocked him unconscious with a single kick and grabbed his clothes, which had been fortunately left nearby.

Where was he? More importantly, where was Freia?  
---------------------------------  
Kasumi winced as she continued walking through the streets of the city… there was no way that somebody with that kind of body build could hit that fast, let alone _hard_ enough, to leave her on the ground and incapacitated. Considering somebody had gotten in the way between her fighting one of Kyokugenryu, Kasumi was focusing on that woman first.

"Excuse me, have you seen either of these people?" asked a voice as Kasumi turned around to see a very young woman holding a piece of paper with Robert and Freia's pictures on them.

"…Possibly," Kasumi muttered quietly in Japanese before a much stronger hand fell on her shoulder and forcefully spun her around.

"If you have, then tell her," Eiji growled before he recognized Kasumi's headband and face. "Todoh…?"

"Kisaragi-san?" Kasumi asked in confusion, continuing to speak in Japanese. "But… why are _you_ helping look for Garcia and Lawrence?"

"Ehem…" Leona said as the two looked over to her, Leona speaking very slowly in the Oriental language. "I am _very_ sorry, but my Japanese is considerably rusty due to a lack of use. Now it's obvious you are familiar with Eiji and you probably saw Robert and Freia Lawrence sometime, so please tell us."

Kasumi took a look past them, seeing Ryo question a pair of French people, a man and a woman and probably tourists, before again returning to her conversation with Eiji and Leona.

"…Alright…" she mumbled again.  
---------------------------------  
As Wyler looked over a collection of test results in his office, he heard the phone ring. Waiting for it to ring twice, he then picked up it.

"Sinclair," came the voice of his assistant. "We have a problem."

"Garcia escaped, no?" Wyler asked. "He'll find plenty of people to keep him busy, but as soon as the process is complete, I'll be sure to show him what I'm capable of…"

"There's something else, too," Sinclair said after a minute. "There is a French woman on the phone that claims to know where Sakazaki is… as well as three high-ranking members of the Ikari Warriors."  
---------------------------------  
The bar was empty save for the unlikely group of seven… Ralf and Clark killing time with armwrestling as Eiji, Leona, Yuri, and Ryo listened to what Kasumi had to say, the Todoh fighter avoiding Ryo's gaze. "And that's it…" she finished up her story. "Three blocks east… that's where it happened."

"Thank you," Eiji responded as he stood up and stretched his legs. "With any luck, I might be able to pick up a trail or something…" He moved towards the door, but Yuri called out to him.

"Kisaragi, thank you," she said as Eiji looked at her, "You've come a long way since before."

Eiji paused at the door and smiled. "We all have. And understand… It may be possible I'll always be a part of Bogard's team… but that's business only…" He ran through the door, shouting back, "AND I'LL TRIPLE THE PRICE FOR HIM! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Was he always like this?" Clark asked.

Ryo just shrugged. "Homicidal killer for hire or over-zealous idiot… sometimes the greater of two evils is the better choice."  
---------------------------------  
The apartment room was quiet as Ash Crimson looked at the phone… that crucial call that possibly had condemned Sakazaki and the others been made less than ten minutes ago.

"Elizabeth…" Ash said as he turned to face his higher-up, a green flame burning in his hands. "That was wrong."

Elisabeth Blanctorche looked at Ash passively. "Our current duty is to halt the Momentum of Wills. The ends justify the means for this to be done."

"Not like this! _Goenitz was able to overcome it on his own, why should we have intervention here?_" Ash shouted as he punched at Elisabeth more out of frustration than anything else. Elisabeth calmly sidestepped and let her riding crop lash out, striking against the right side of Ash's face.

The scream was horrifying as Ash clutched the laceration that covered much of that side of his face. He turned to see Elizabeth standing there, still holding that crop.

"That's your problem Ash," she said, "You're afraid that unless you play the straight and narrow, you're no better than those you're supposed to fight against."  
---------------------------------  
_Okay…_ Eiji thought as he looked down at the ground, running his hands across the very faint imprints in the ground, _This was where that one mystery woman was… and Kasumi was right! There's no way somebody like that could knock Garcia out that easily…_

It wasn't just a matter of body mass, there was also the fact there was no release of Chi around here… and even somebody that had a small body build, like Lilly Kane, would have to leave a fairly large imprint of energy from that kind of exertion.

Still, the slight depressions in the ground were enough for Eiji, and after grabbing a map and checking the directions, Eiji wasn't surprised.

"Southeast… not too far away there an island… perfect getaway for Wyler…" he muttered before he turned around.

And saw Jin Fuha standing in front of him.

"Eiji," Fuha growled as Eiji cursed himself for not assembling a set of ninja equipment. He had expected to be the one tracking Fuha, but it looked like he didn't have that luxury.

"That's Kisaragi-san to you," Eiji answered, noticing a pair of black vans heading off to where the bar was.

Looks like he'd be a bit late getting back…  
---------------------------------  
Ryo sat back, slowly getting frustrated. How long did it take for a ninja to get done with looking at the ground, anyways?

Eventually the door opened and Ryo turned, expecting to see his rival coming back. Instead, Ryo saw a number of men that fired a volley of tranquilizer darts into the room, knocking out all six of them.

_No way…_ Ryo thought as he slumped over, _Is it really…?  
_---------------------------------  
"You're slow!" Jin Fuha yelled as he battered Eiji around the park, "You're slow and weak!" The taller ninja couldn't believe how easily he was beating his former master as Eiji was smashed into a tree and fell on his hands and knees.

_How can I lose like this?_ Eiji thought as he got back up to his feet, dodging to the side just in them for Jin Fuha's fist to split the tree in half. Eiji then kicked forward, knocking his foot into Fuha's head and knocking him away. As Eiji spun from the momentum, he saw those same black vans driving away.

Call it a hunch, but Eiji suspected there were six familiar faces in those vans.

As Fuha regained his bearings, he charged again, slashing and striking at Eiji with his Kunai daggers as Eiji was forced back further and further. As soon as Eiji was in position, Fuha kicked Eiji away again.

Slammed into another tree, Eiji grunted in frustration. Was this the end of him?

No! Eiji wasn't just some hired thug; he lived, learned, and matured every day of his life! And part of that was learning how to fight like this… without his traditional outfit or knives!

Jin Fuha walked up to Eiji and kicked him again in the head and then raised up one of his daggers. "You die."

There was a splatter of blood and then a gasp as Fuha staggered back…

…a single strand of Eiji's hair having been slammed into the bigger ninja's head and inflicting a rather splitting headache.

"Jin Fuha," Eiji said as he panted and got to his feet, "The noun 'you' is used to address who you are talking to. 'I', meaning 'Jin Fuha', not 'Eiji Kisaragi', was the noun you wanted in front of 'die'." Eiji jumped into the air, kicking relentlessly and constantly, turning the fight to his advantage almost instantly.

Jin Fuha was sent flying back but charged back right away, stabbing straight at Eiji. "You're a damn smart-mouth!"

"There you go again," Eiji taunted, knowing he had broken Fuha's focus and therefor, Fuha's chance to win. "You're mistaking 'you' for 'I'… plus you screwed up the verbs too." He calmly reached at as the daggers reached him, plucked them out of Fuha's hand, and then slashed his former student in the chest.

"Dammit," Fuha grunted as he collapsed. Eiji looked down at him and sighed before dropping the daggers and walking away.

"Life's too short to spend it hating people," Eiji said as he ran off after the vans, leaving Fuha merely to curse his existence yet again.  
---------------------------------  
When Leona woke up, she found herself in a cell with Ralf and Clark, all three of them tied up with chains around their arms and also binding their legs with the same going for Ryo, Kasumi, and Yuri in the cell opposite theirs.

"Shit!" Ralf muttered, Leona assumed that the others had been having a conversation during this time. "So you guys can't break out or anything?"

Yuri shook her head, "Not without getting into some type of stance to focus…"

Leona, however, seeing the cell cages themselves, just propped herself up against a wall and slowly started standing up. She grinned while thanking small graces for the fact her captors hadn't bothered taking away her one piece of jewelry.

"Leona?" Clark asked as Leona hopped over to the metal bards, pressing her left earring against and waiting to hear a slight beep.

"You might want to get closer," she said while taking a few hops back. "The only way we're going to be able to break out of this is if the heat softens up the metal."

"You mean you're _blowing_ us out?" Clark said nervously. "Commander really never gave this a field-test…"

"We've got nothing to lose," Ralf answered, biting Clark by the top of his shirt and dragging him over.

Ryo, Kasumi, and Yuri were all shocked as the earring began a loud beeping and then detonated, blasting the entire cell apparently to ruin.

However, when the dust settled, Leona, Ralf, and Clark were only showing minor burns, their bonds reduced to slag metal.

"How… how did you do that?" Ryo asked, utterly amazed.

Leona ran over to their cell and cut the bars in half with a single, razor-sharp chop before doing the same to their chains. After that she just shrugged. "The charges in the rings are designed for heat, but not explosive yield. We train in Brazil all the time under some pretty harsh standards, so I thought we could afford to push our luck a bit. If they managed to heat up the chains enough, all we needed to do was get close but not too close." _Well… that and condensing the water vapor in the air to soften the blow with some of my powers as the Serpent God of Water…_ Leona added subconsciously.

Cracking her neck, Yuri ran off in one direction the others following her, praying that Robert was alright.  
---------------------------------  
Robert ran through the halls of Wyler's mansion as fast as he could, stopping as he rounded the bend and found himself in a wide room, with Wyler standing there and Freia lying on a table, possibly dead.

Wyler just looked at Robert and chuckled before taking a sip of the drink in his glass. "Oh… you're finally here," the drug dealer mused as Robert pointed at him.

"What the Hell did you do to her?" Robert shouted furiously.

Gordon just laughed once and walked over to her, running one of his hands through her hair. "A sample."

"What?" Robert asked, more confused than ever.

Wyler casually plucked a single hair off her head and dropped it into his drink, where it fizzed and dissolved away. The man then turned to Robert and sighed. "Imagine if my late partner and I had once thought of making the world's greatest performance-enhancing drug, one which would eventually have to be adopted by every great competitor for them to have a chance of ever carrying home a trophy in any competition of physical strength.

Wyler took another sip of his drink before continuing. "Unfortunately, after doing a key bit of work on it, he had second thoughts. Over the course of… physically persuading him to tell me…" Another sip, "He died and took the secret to his grave. But imagine! After year after year of research… I discovered _exactly_ what was the missing component!" Wyler took another sip before suddenly hunching over, his muscles tensing as he looked up, "All I needed was a sample of his… or Freia's DNA! And best of all…" Wyler screamed as he bulked up like the Incredible Hulk and ripped off his shirt, "YOU brought her to me!"

Wyler charged, and so did Robert.  
---------------------------------  
"How big is this place?" Ralf groaned as she and the others ran through yet another hallway without finding anyone to even question.

Finding a set of doors to the outside, Leona flung them open…

And the six froze in place.

"It's been a long time, Ryo…" mused an aged man standing with a force of at least two dozen men, each armed with semi-automatic weapons.

_Impossible…_ Ryo and Yuri thought… "John Crawley!"

Ryo remembered the member of Mr. Big's subgroup of Geese's criminal empire… but he couldn't believe he was still alive!

"I wasn't the only one to run away from Southtown and escape Bogard's wrath," the Guile look-alike said before he gave the word and the men opened fire.

But the military force hadn't expected a sheer wall of energy to flare up in front of Kasumi, rending their bullets to nothing as Yuri, Ryo, Ralf, Clark, and Leona all burst through afterwards, and the rapid-fire fury of the Zanretsuken and Vulcan punches disposing of them all nearly instantly.

Even Crawley fell victim, a fierce slash by Leona getting him across the middle of the face and torso before the group continued running to the building in front of them, obviously Wyler's mansion. Yuri and Kasumi ran through first, but as Ryo reached for the door...

BANG! BANG!

Ryo, Ralf, and Clark all turned to see to red splotches spreading on Leona's body, the young girl falling to her knees as Crawley slowly began laughing as he got back to his feet, blood dripping from his vertical slash. "Heh… those drugs of Wyler sure can keep you going, can't they?"

Ralf, Ryo, and Clark just stood there in horror… not even noticing Leona's hair slowly turning red as a quiet laughter slowly replaced John's.

"Funny…" Leona barely whispered as she stood back up, turning to look at John…

…and then she was right in front of him, her very hand impaling his head and tearing out everything it could, "HOW ABOUT A COMPLETE LABOTAMY! WHAT ABOUT THAT?" The four were silent for a moment, but then Clark decided to take his chances.

"Leona… you're… _alive!_" he said as he walked up to her, confused about the sudden hair change, but then again, she probably knew more about it than they did. Hell, she had informed them on the Orochi situation… or at least what part of it they knew.

Leona turned to Clark, however, and threw him away. "She has to die."

"Who has to die?" Ralf asked, baffled by all of this.

Leona clenched her fists as the full power of Aido-Hwedo, the Serpent God of Water made itself manifest, nearly blowing the three men away instantly.

"_Who else? YUKI KUSHANIDA!_"

A/N: When Geese confronted the psychotic Orochi Goenitz, he had the luxury of a young girl with the powers of a Serpent God backing him up… but now that young girl is facing a trial that Goenitz himself tackled in 1993. If the murderous Leona overcomes the three men facing her, then Mexico will be quickly destroyed. If she is defeated, a face might just be attached to the Momentum of Wills. But in the meantime, Yuri has a boyfriend to save, and Kasumi has another chance at defeating a certain swordswoman in The Men Behind the Snake.


	33. HfW3: The Man Behind the Snake

A/N: I can honestly say it's not like I forget you all… it's just AP classes are tough nuts to crack…

… Especially when you have an uber-feminist AP English teacher that yells at you when you use the same word twice in one paragraph. Let's see HER whip up homonyms for "townspeople" without using anything along the lines of "villager"!

But enough of this crap… it's time to finish the Wyler miniarc!

* * *

Yuri and Kasumi ran as fast as they could in the direction of the thunderous battle in the mansion, finally smashing down one door to see another horde of Wyler's personal attack force. 

Kasumi looked at Yuri for a moment and then began gathering up her energy. "Yuri… when I give you your opening, keep running and get to Robert."

Yuri looked at Kasumi for a moment and then nodded. Kasumi then returned the nonverbal agreement and slammed down with her hands, an energy wave blasting into the group which Yuri then used as a fitting distraction to run through to the next room.

But no sooner had Yuri ran through had Kasumi sprang behind her and shut the doors before turning to the crowd. "None shall pass…" she said defiantly.

The troop of twenty men showed no hesitance in charging at her.

It was time to show the power of Todoh-style Aikido.

Twenty fists all shot at her, and with one graceful move of her hand, twenty faces took the brunt of twenty redirected punches.

Kasumi grinned as she watched them all stagger back in shock before commenting. "Aikido emphasizes redirecting and deflecting attacks, so fighting groups is no problem."

This was going to be fun!

* * *

Robert kept up his defenses as Wyler beat him around. The man had bulked up so much! 

Sensing an opening, Robert blasted a Haoh-Sho-Koh-Ken straight into him which sent the giant away into a wall and left a sizable imprint. Wyler walked out, however, unfazed and charged at the slightly dazed Robert.

"Time to d-"

"KOAH-KEN!"

Robert saw Yuri standing there, panting but still going strong. "Lay off Robert," she commanded.

Wyler turned to catch a pink-colored Koah-Ken to the face and another to the gut before he slapped the third back at Yuri and knocked her away. He turned to grind Robert back into the dust and sent a fist larger than Robert's head at him…

… but Robert caught it and kicked Gordon away.

"My friend and the woman I love," he growled as he gathered up all of his energy, "I will not rest, Wyler, UNTIL YOU'RE DEAD!"

Getting back on her feet, Yuri saw Robert engaging hand-to-hand against Wyler, smiling before noticing that Freia was beginning to regain her senses.

* * *

Ryo, Robert, and Clark were sent flying back into the wall of the mansion against Leona's awesome power, the Ikari callous at the damage she was inflicting.

"I have no quarrel with you," she said before Ralf and Clark charged again, Vulcan punches flying every which way that Leona didn't even bother blocking or dodging. Why should a god bother defending itself from a worm? That fool Crawley had stirred up quite the rage in her… but it had quickly faded away.

But even gods grew tired of worms exercising futility, and Leona simply flicked her index fingers in their directions, the outright force and speed of the attacks whipping the air that was thrust into Ralf and Clark's chests to rend flesh.

"What've you done with Leona, dammit!" Ralf grunted as he fell to his knees, fists and teeth clenched in frustration.

"Leona? I _am_ Leona, Ralf," the Serpent God answered as she lifted him up and kicked him away before moving on to Clark. "I just had my eyes opened to the way this world needs me… how the Orochi needs me…"

"Orochi!" Clark shouted before Leona buried her fist in his face. Being nearly snapped in half by the force and his sunglasses shattered, Clark struggled to stand again. "But… you said its influence was removed!"

"And you are one-hundred percent correct, Clark Steel," Leona answered. "I am doing this of my own free will,

empowered to do what is needed for this planet."

"PLANET THIS!" Ryo shouted from behind Leona, a Haoh-Shi-Koh-Ken charged up and fired off and striking Leona instantly.

… But Ralf, Clark, and Ryo almost died of shock at see Leona simply raise her hand and stop the attack without exerting any force. Yet a rage was again building on Leona's face as she turned to Ryo.

"Ryo Sakazaki, do you know what will happen if the Orochi fails?"

"Do you?" Ryo shot back before charging.

Leona simply stood there as Ryo unleashed a Zanretsuken before continuing to speak. "Something very bad. And you try my patience."

A single punch by Leona sent Ryo, and the first level of topsoil below him, flying away.

* * *

Kasumi panted as the guards around her twitched on the ground. That hadn't been as bad as she had feared. Of course, life was never fair. 

The sound of steel being drawn caused her to turn and see that Sinclair had finally entered the fray.

Oh well, Sakazaki could wait.

Wyler swung wildly as Robert jumped over him, kicking in the drug dealer's face in the process. Robert then flipped back as Wyler tried to grab him and fired off another Koah-Ken, energy brimming from him.

_Is this…_ Robert thought as the Invincible Dragon charged again, _the kind of power Ryo tapped into when he fought Kyo in '94?_

Wyler struck again, and Robert simply caught the fist in midair, pushing back as Wyler struggled with all his might to overpower Robert.

In the end, however, even the performance enhancing drugs could not match the power of Kyokugenryu, and the only thing that shattered was Wyler's right arm.

* * *

Leona's expressions slowly became more and more frustrated as Ralf, Clark, and Ryo all managed to get on their feet after her last round of abuse. If nothing more, their damned persistence was getting in her way.

Leona lunged at them, hands slashing down at Ryo, but suddenly it felt like a tank had hit into her from the side, and Leona went sailing away.

"I'll be damned," Ralf panted after the strike, "The Galactica Phantom actually did something to her…"

Pulling herself from the rubble of a concrete wall, Leona's eyes strayed to her hands, which had suffered the most from the impact.

_What… blood? Just like before… What… _What's_ going on here!_

"Sorry Leona!" Ryo shouted as he and the Ikaris charged, noticing the slight change in the way Leona was acting.

For one… she actually had to block their attacks.

_I… I can't control my body!_

_That's because you'd try to stop me…_

_Who the Hell are you!_ Leona mentally screamed as Ryo managed to overpower her, smashing her into the wall again.

_I'm you._

_THE HELL YOU ARE!_ Leona thought.

_Face it Leona… you're entire life has been that of being a killer. Even joining up with the Ikari Warriors to hunt down the Orochi… you _knew _you'd have plenty more missions where you'd have to kill people… and deep down, you enjoy it._

Leona could feel her body rising up again, she hoped she could finish this before either she or anybody else would die. _That's not true! I may have to kill people for missions, but only on those specific missions. And that's not what defines me!_

_Then what does?_

Leona thought to those times with Vice, Mature, and Chizuru. They were all connected to this whole "Orochi and Serpent Gods" thing… her most of all for being one of them. _Those times with… _she was going to answer honestly, _Mature and the others. And besides, my innocence was taken away from me… if it means I have to become an Ikari so some other little girl doesn't suffer my fate… then so be it! NOW GET THE HELL OUT OF MY MIND!_

When Leona regained consciousness… she was on the ground looking up and seeing Eiji applying smelling salts to her, with Ralf, Clark, and Ryo knocked out too.

"How long?" she asked weakly as Eiji walked over and worked on reviving Ryo.

"I got here just before you were about to tear Clark's throat out," Eiji said, "You passed out with your hand inches away from his jugular."

* * *

"You still don't get it do you?" Sinclair said dryly as she slashed again at Kasumi. Kasumi's lightning-fast counter was stopped before it started with a punch to the head, and the Todoh fighter found herself against a wall. "You can't beat me."

"I'd like to know why then," Kasumi growled as she ducked under another slash, sparks flying as the sword sheared off a portion of the wall. She punched Sinclair in the gut before looping around and kicking the swordswoman in the back of the head.

Sinclair, however, simply elbowed her away and sighed. "If you _must_ know… I'm Wyler's voluntary guinea pig."

Sinclair attacked again, knocking Kasumi to the floor. _I can't lose like this! _Kasumi thought as she rolled away from another attack. _I just can't!_ She kicked back up, nailing Sinclair in the chin before pulling her legs back and then kicking them into Sinclair's wrists with considerable force.

The dark-skinned woman, however, grinned as her arms took the force, getting knocked back into a crucified-style image, but then they stopped.

"Trying to break my arms?" she asked as Kasumi struggled against her stronger foe.

Suddenly, Kasumi grinned through the pain of the awkward handstand position. "On the contrary…"

Sinclair never saw the gigantic energy wave coming before Kasumi flipped backwards on her feet and let the blue energy wave fly, and when Sinclair was sent flying into the wall, sword and much of her body breaking.

* * *

Robert was blasted away again as Wyler struck out with his good hand, but the Kyokugenryu fighter landed on his feet and sprang back, getting ready for the finishing blow. 

"You just rely on some drug to win," Robert said as he kicked Wyler in the face, "You don't know what being a true fighter is all about!"

Wyler growled as he clenched his fist and struck out with it, a tornado shooting from it and blasting Robert away. Wyler struck again… but he mistook Robert holding his arms to his chest as a sign of defense and not attack…

"RYUKO RANBU!" Robert shouted as he suddenly appeared in front of Wyler, punching, kicking, and striking just constantly and with total disregard for Gordon's health before jumping back and firing off a Haoh-Sho-Koh-Ken at full power.

When the smoke settled, Wyler just had a shocked look on his face and collapsed. "No… no… no…" he began whispering, Yuri, Robert, and Freia all confused.

"A… side effect?" Yuri asked. Robert shrugged, but couldn't believe it when he saw Freia walking to him.

"Freia… what are you doing?" he said before running to her, but the girl just shook her head.

"I'm sorry, Robert… I just… if I left him now, it would be like what my father did to him."

"Freia…"

The girl just turned to Robert and sighed, "He's finished, Robert, he probably won't even be able to think straight for the remainder of his short, crippled life. I just feel I should be some kind of support for him… prove I'm the better person… something like that…"

Yuri and Robert were speechless… Freia certainly had a stronger moral fiber than either of them in this case… but after a long time, Robert nodded. "Fine… I guess I'll see you around some time."

"Count on it," Freia said as Robert and Yuri walked away, "I'm not wasting my life on an invalid... just taking time out so he can die in peace."

* * *

"Sorry about everything…" Leona said as she, Ralf, Clark, Ryo, Robert, Yuri, Kasumi, and Eiji all sat in the terminal, each one waiting for their flights to come.

"It's nothing!" Ralf said as he flexed a muscle, "We got through it, right?"

"Yeah," Leona answered as she looked down at her left palm, a rainbow-hued serpent forming an Ouroboros on it. "Well… I've got a few things to look into as a result of all this, but I'll be back," she said as she headed off on her own for a flight to Japan.

"If that's the case," Clark said as he and Ralf headed off on their own too, back to Brazil to report on another successful mission. "See you all in a couple of months."

Checking his watch, Robert himself silently swore. "Sorry, but I don't think I can keep the old man in Italy waiting any more…" he started heading off, Yuri watching him but hesitant to act.

"What are you waiting for?" Ryo said as he put his hand on her shoulder and pointed to him. "There you have your boyfriend, angsty and feeling lost when you have…" Ryo reached into his pocket and pulled out two pieces of paper. "These."

Yuri looked at both of them before realizing what Ryo was saying. Without a word, she grabbed them both and then ran after Robert full speed.

Ryo then turned back to Eiji and Kasumi. "Well, Strider Hiryu? You gonna say something poetic but stupid and then throw a smoke bomb onto the ground and run away?"

Eiji just looked at him complacently before answering. "No… I'm going to take you up on that offer of paying for drinks at a bar… and if you gave Yuri what I think you gave her, then King is going to need another team-mate…"

"Last boarding call for flight 428," came the announcement as Robert jogged to his plane when somebody called out to him.

"Wait, Robert!" Yuri shouted as she caught up to him.

"Yuri, you can't come on the flight," Robert said before Yuri showed him the ticket she had been given. "Oh… and the other paper?"

Yuri's grin became even bigger when she showed him that she held one of the invites to be on the Kyokugenryu team for the next King of Fighters.

* * *

"Twin demons?" Cheng Sinzan said as he ran through his most recent and accurate translations of the three Jin Scrolls. "What is this all about?"

A knock at the door caused him to spin around and see that awful man that had tried to kill him just last year.

"You need to stop this," Yamazaki said from a distance, showing more desperation in his voice than aggression.

"Why would that be?" Cheng asked as he reached for the silent alarm. He stopped, however, when the Orochi-possessed Ryuji threw one of the security guards in between them. "Oh."

"I am telling you this for the good of yourself and everybody on the planet," Yamazaki commanded, "If you were wise you would burn those scrolls to ashes and erase every mention of them and the Momentum of Wills from your archives."

"And…" Cheng asked as he reached for the 'delete' button, but with a nine millimeter handgun nearby as well, "If I were to refuse?"

He spun around in his chair, gun pointed right at where Ryuji had been… but the thug was gone.

As Cheng returned to his work, he could've sworn he had heard two children laughing for a few seconds…

A/N: The Sacred Jin Scrolls… were do they fit into this conflict of Serpent Gods? Are they merely recorders of information or something far worse. Few know, and with the King of Fighters '96 mere months away, Geese and Goenitz will quickly find themselves fighting a war with two fronts when two young children come to Southtown in Riots of Southtown.

Omake time! And yes… I'm making up for the lack of updates.

Gang's all here -or- Mr. Bernstein… right this way, please!

"Hey, look who finally died!" shouted lardass Jack Turner as he, Mr. Big, and Mickey Rogers all cheered at seeing John Crawley walk up to the pearly gates of Heaven for judgement. The victims of Terry Bogard's brutality all were passing the time in the line by playing "Konami vs. Namco Card Clash"… and they weren't the only ones.

"What's keeping the line up?" the Guile look-alike asked.

Mickey sighed. "Two VIP bastards… we're wondering who they are." He then turned back to the game and shouted in victory. "Ha! Team attack with Solid Snake, Lloyd Irving, and Soma Cruz!"

* * *

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN I'M GOING TO HELL AND HE GOES TO HEAVEN?" Tung Fu Rue screamed in frustration as Rugal Bernstein just sat back and enjoyed the screaming match between the old man and St. Peter.

"Well… you _did_ choose Geese Howard over Jeff Bogard…" Peter said, "And besides… look at the resume for Rugal Bernstein!"

"Rabbit veterinarian…" Tung muttered. "You know he really was a weapons dealer, correct?"

"They can't see everything," Rugal said. "They're not Santa Claus."

"This is horrible…" Tung muttered. "I go to Hell for doing the right thing while this killer gets to have an after-life of luxury?"

"Rules are rules… after all…" Peter sighed.

"HAHA!" Rugal shouted joyously, "The great Rugal Bernstein can even cheat God himself!"

Suddenly, everybody in line gasped.

"Mr. Bernstein…" St. Peter inquired, "Did you just laugh _maniacally_?"

Looking around, Rugal suddenly gulped and shook his head. "No…" he barely eeped out.

Suddenly a gigantic pillar of fire burst up in front of Rugal, two red forms stepping out. One like a gargoyle, one like a fire demon.

"Ah, Pyron and Red Arremer…" St. Peter said, "We just had somebody laugh maniacally… could you dispose of them for us?"

"Gladly," Pyron growled as he beat the living tar out of Rugal effortlessly. In the meantime, Red Arremer walked up to Tung and bowed apologetically.

"Sorry about that… with so many people dying every day, there are slip-ups all the time… here…" he handed Tung a coupon, "Good for one visit to Hell for Dan Hibiki's seminar on training. You have no idea how deadly those attacks are. I mean… they look harmless and everything…" They both turned to see Rugal's best Genocide Cutter get stopped by a Gadouken from Pyron, "But they're outright lethal!"

Suddenly Pyron's wristwatch began beeping madly. "Oh, crud! I'm set with that date with Mizuki from Samurai Showdown II…"

"I'll cover for you man…" Red Arremer said as he continued the abuse.

Pyron just looked on for a moment before crying uncontrollably. "Jeez, Arremer… you're the best friend a plasma alien as strong as Galactus could ever have!"


	34. Goenitz's Next Move

A/N: Well… five games down… seventeen to go… provided SNK sits on their ass long enough so I can finish before they grind out the conclusions to Maximum Impact, the Tales of Ash, or Garou.

Meh. This is SNK we're talking about. I've got plenty of time. .

Moving right along, we've done the "Serpent God", "Return to Southtown", "Rugal" and "Hunt for Wyler" story arcs… but now my most ambitious challenge yet! And thus begins "Riots of Southtown"!

Disclaimer: Thanks to a covert but hostile takeover, I own SNKP! Huzzah!

… I wish.

Oh, and by the way… have you ever seen "Street Fighter II V"? Seriously… in the English dub Ryu sounds a bit like Terry did in the Fatal Fury movies and his casual clothes are the same (white shirt with blue jeans) and he has Joe's hair style! Plus they made Ken a redhead! Weird… oh well, it's decent enough, so I'll probably watch it after I'm done with "Saint Seiya"…

* * *

Kyo was expecting the first day of school to be a nightmare. He'd probably end up in some fight or something and get pulled aside and warned he was lucky enough to be allowed to stay in high school while repeating _every single grade…_

But what the Hell… he was two-time winner of the King of Fighters! He could probably even give Geese Howard a run for his money!

Silly Kyo… don't poke the bear. Sometimes it'll just skip all the mauling and go to using a Mighty Raging Storm.

But as Kyo walked in, expecting fans to tackle him endlessly, he saw almost everybody hovering around Athena's desk, his fellow fighter signing autographs for her songs.

Kyo was about to go up and talk with her and Yuki bit when one of the aficionados turned and saw him. "Kusanagi-san!" shouted Shingo as he ran up to him and bowed several times. "I heard you won again!"

"Yeah, I was practically being begged to go on talk shows," Kyo said as he started to walk over to Athena when Shingo moved in front of him again. "What?"

Looking at Kyo for a moment, Shingo finally just took a deep breath and let it all out. "Kusanagi-sanIwasreallywonderingifyouwouldtrainme," Shingo blurted out loud enough for everybody to just turn and look at him and then Kyo.

Kyo sighed. When was this guy going to take a hint. "Shingo, we've been over this before. One, you can't use crimson flames. Two, you aren't a Kusanagi. Three…" Kyo's mouth dropped open as he tried to think up a good third reason. Finally, Kyo snapped his fingers and looked at Shingo. "Three… three is you're just a bad fighter!"

Shingo looked at him for a moment with a hurt look before trying to speak back. "Hey… I'm decent… what about the 'Burning Shingo' attack?"

Kyo sighed and shook his head. "The Burning Shingo would imply you would immolate yourself, Shingo… not to say that I wish it sometimes… but the fact is you just don't know the first thing about actual fighting!"

"Of course not," Shingo answered, "Because I want to be trained by you and I'm not going to have any serious experience until then! Now seriously, is there any fault in my fighting that _wouldn't_ be handled with a little training?"

For all of his fan worship of Kyo, Shingo did have a determined spirit some time, and Kyo realized he was getting nowhere. Letting out yet another sigh and hoping this wouldn't lead Shingo the throw himself into this god-awful Orochi mess which was even more screwed up after Kyo's meeting with Vice and Mature, Kyo gave up.

"Fine… meet me today after school. I want to test one thing first…"

"What's that?"

"You'll see."

* * *

Elsewhere in the northern United States, a white-haired man walked down the dark corridor, looking at the test subjects that were held in stasis.

"Subject K' is the one that has highest potential for survival… although subject D' also shows significant strength as well…" one of the technicians said as he went over the papers. "Thanks to the incidents on the Blacknoah… our first specimen will be finished in a little over two years… and Rugal Bernstein's unique way of learning techniques by watching them several times has been broken down into thought patterns. The prototype Battle Data Analyzer will be finished in 1999, and the perfected one in 2001, provided all runs smoothly."

Original Zero nodded in approval before he saw… himself… looking at the specimens as well.

"Who would've thought Mr. Idealistic would have condoned such an act?" Clone Zero sighed as the two looked at each other.

"I volunteered for the original cloning process when all the kinks weren't worked out for sure, that's good enough," Original answered.

"I'm sure it is…" the secret leader of Addis mused before walking away… "But I _am_ impressed by your work with genetics. If I were you… which technically I am, I'd be posting in some science journal right now…"

Original growled as his copy walked away. If he had known that creating something from nothing would've caused _that_… he would've stopped this little brainchild project of his.

God knew how hard it took Diana to cheer him up on the days when his conscious got the better of him…

Zero turned back to the two specimens floating in stasis and shook his head. "Doctor… I want you to compile all information you can on Kenneth Dashel and Kristen Diamond possible."

"Sir?"

"I _don't_ give a damn if Igniz told you to do it or not!" Zero bellowed, "I am your immediate superior and I gave you an order!"

Zero looked down at his hands and took a deep breath.

For the future… that was what he was doing this for…

* * *

"Hold the elevator!" shouted a voice as Jivatama blocked it from closing as the blonde-haired young man ran in as well, still wet after his shower.

"I see that you still wash after sparring with Abel," Jivatama answered as Kain R. Heinlein glared at him. There was that weird way that the Indonesian spoke that got on _everybody's_ nerves. Kain had no idea how White could stand him.

Jivatama himself was less of an Addis agent than a partner of sorts, which left a certain… gap between him and the other high-ranking officers, essentially Kain, Grant, White, and to an extent… Duke.

Fate still thought he was the Robin Hood of Southtown… good for him.

"His name is Grant," Kain eventually spat out.

"It matters not," Jivatama answered as he began looking over the most recent transcripts that Addis's true leader had sent. The papers would no doubt help the genetic enhancement projects speed along… something Jivatama wished greatly. _As long as we acquire the Jin scrolls… _we'll_ control the Orochi… and one less threat to stop me...

* * *

_"Are you serious?" Geese said in shock as Goenitz relayed the conflict that had transpired not too long ago. 

"It's true," his best friend answered over the telephone. "From what Leona said, the same voice that had been telling me to just give into the bloodthirsty power when I fought Terry also took hold of Leona for a short period… seemingly out of necessity."

"Just like how Vice and Mature had instinctively called on their latent Orochi strength when fighting Ana and Hermione…" Geese responded.

"That's a point I hadn't thought of…" Goenitz said. "We just get thrown deeper and deeper into this situation with no end in sight to the twists…"

Geese sat back for a moment and thought through this whole situation. He had to call upon the deductive reasoning he has used to become Southtown's police commissioner so long ago… "The Orochi is using a vessel actively, but Yamazaki isn't Chris… who _is_ the Orochi's reincarnation… probably the same way that you and Leona are both Serpent Gods yet there were forces inside of you claiming to be just facets of yourself…"

"I see what you're meaning…" Goenitz answered, "But that's barely any help whatsoever."

"Actually…" Geese answered, "It's quite a bit…"

"What?"

"When Leona was in league with that force, her power shot through the roof… on level with the strength of the Orochi itself… if she was right about that, it means that force was supporting her because she felt she needed it… just like when Terry gave you trouble. It's probably this force that makes a Serpent God become some absolutist force that feels they have to kill Yuki Kushinida and also gives tremendous strength."

"We still know so little about it…" Goenitz said. "What is it called? What even _is _it?" After a deep breath to help him relax, Goenitz continued, "Whatever the case, I'll see you soon."

"How come?"

"It's about time Kagura Corp. starts being a part for the King of Fighters, since it's going into public sponsoring again," Goenitz answered. "Maki and I are hoping to use the opportunity and draw out Yamazaki and deal with the last of the eight Orochi heads. Plus… we've got a few schemes to ensure Kyo stays alive."

"Well then good luck, I might enter myself…"

* * *

The parking lot had a number of students in it as Kyo looked at Shingo. This wouldn't take long, or at least Kyo thought it wouldn't.

"One minute…" Kyo said as he raised his finger. "If you can stay on your feet for one minute, _then_ we'll talk."

Shingo nodded as he got ready in his stance and then charged…

… and was almost smashed into the ground by a R.E.D. kick… only being held up by his knees and hands before managing to force Kyo off.

_Okay… Kyo got me that time but…_ Shingo thought as he charged again, only to be blasted by flaming punch after punch before an Orochinagi sent him flying away.

"Come on Shingo… it's only been ten seconds," Kyo said as Shingo tried to catch his breath. Kyo didn't give him the opening and sent waves of flame into Shingo which the boy managed to fling himself over with a "Shingo Kick" aimed straight at Kyo's head.

Kyo simply caught the foot and countered with a Oni Yaki anti-air strike. Yet as Shingo fell, he managed to catch himself and fling back upwards and actually connect his foot into Kyo's descending head. Shingo then charged at Kyo's slightly dazed and falling form and slammed his shoulder into it… the Burning Shingo technique that surprised Kyo at its strength.

Not that it _was_ strong… just stronger than Kyo had expected. Kyo just returned the favor with a _real_ fire attack, however, with a full-power Orochinagi to which Shingo screamed out in pain from.

Yet as the smoke drifted away… Kyo was shocked to see Shingo was still standing… that and his watch was showing the fight had lasted now well over a minute.

True, Shingo's legs were about to give out -and there they went- Kyo had to admit a deal was a deal. Besides… that was just to prove Shingo was _worth_ the training.

"Well?" Shingo muttered on the ground. Kyo shrugged and helped him up and shook his head in frustration.

"Fine… starting next week I'll show you one attack a day… and it'll be up for you to work on their forms. Every month on the twenty-eighth we'll spar, and if you repeat this shithole of a performance, it's over. Clear?"

Shingo looked at him and nodded fanatically. "Fine, yeah, yeah!"

* * *

_What a joke_… Yagami thought as he sat across the street and watched Kyo's pathetic performance. Oh well… no point in fighting him with those others around…

… especially when those two girls… Asamiya and Kushinida… came out to check on them. Iori knew how tough Asamiya was… and if the rumors were right, she had restored all Kyo's strength before their fight in 1994 and proved to be a serious contender…

… but that Yuki girl was the one that really gave him the creeps. Just something about her… or maybe the force of the Orochi just egging him on to kill her for its own selfish gains.

Whatever…

"Scoping out Kusanagi for a nice little rape session?" said a feminine voice as two gentle but still strong hands fell on his shoulders. He looked up and was about to rend out the throat of the bother when he realized who it was.

"You worked for Rugal, didn't you…" he asked Vice. The woman just chuckled once and walked away.

_Are all these Orochi idiots that gullible?_ She thought as she walked next to Mature. "That's certainly correct, and considering you essentially demolished the entirety of the girlfriend team all by yourself… we're willing to offer you our third slot on our own team for this year's King of Fighters."

"Aren't you just jumping boats?" Iori asked, to which Mature simply laughed at.

"Working for Rugal was out of necessity, not choice," Mature answered honestly. "Besides, he was the best we had found in terms of Orochi power until you came along…"

"And if I take this invite…" Iori said, "What does this confer?"

"It means," Mature said as she took at the third envelope… thanking good ol' Kagura Corp. for supplying them. "You have a shot at Kyo if you put the luck of the draw into account… _without_ worrying about Miss Psychic Bitch getting in the way."

Iori looked back and weighed his chances. To do or not… that was the question.

"Fine… but _I_ deal with Kusanagi… clear?" Iori said as he accepted their offer… not knowing Vice and Mature's true goal in all of this of freeing Kyo up for somebody else they knew to attack him.

_Well Vice… we're in deeper than ever… but we _do_ have each other_, the blonde thought as the three walked away.

* * *

_Well… I guess training Shingo would help me keep in shape…_ Kyo thought as he just stared up at the sky in the park. _Of course… with Rugal dealt with and Heidern and Takuma retiring, I've got next year in the bag already! Hell… probably could handle it on my ow-_

"Kyo Kusanagi!" shouted a female voice behind him. Kyo immediately rolled and spun onto his feet, sizing up his aggressor. She was older than him by a bit… and he _knew_ he had seen her somewhere… or at least he thought he had.

She had short, jet-black hair, and was wearing a traditional Shinto priestess's robes, save for the fact the outfit was entirely black.

"Who're you?" he asked the woman, who cracked her neck and smiled.

"I'm Orochi… that's all you need to know," Maki Kagura outright lied. However, having the three Sacred Treasure's bases covered was worth the masquerade, and it would compel Kyo to get his ought-to-be-in-college ass in gear.

"Oh… you're thinking of avenging Rugal, eh?" Kyo asked and fired off an Orochinagi that Maki jumped above and then punted him in the head, sending the Kusanagi flying away. Kyo couldn't believe how hard the strike had been, and as he wiped the blood from his mouth and tried to get up, he looked at the alleged Orochi user.

"Avenging Rugal?" Maki mused, "Far from it… just removing a threat to the Orochi." She suddenly appeared in front of Kyo, sending her five fingers into Kyo's gut forcefully and sending him to the ground. She raised her hand up, as the routine had been planned out, and struck down at the now shocked and mortally scared Kyo, stopping at the last second. "Then again… Rugal always _was_ a bit of a pushover."

She walked away, praying Kyo would use this as motivation to actually train seriously now…

With so much still unknown, they couldn't afford any weak links in the chains…

* * *

Dark Yamazaki ran through the dark streets of Hong Kong as fast as he could as two figures, one wearing blue and the other wearing red, jumped from rooftop from rooftop after him.

"Stay away from me!" the Orochi screamed, "For the planet's sake I cannot be stopped!"

Yet the Jin twins continued their childish laughter before springing in front of him and smiling.

"Ah… Chonshu, he acts like he can boss us around in that underpowered vessel of his…" said the older brother.

"Even with the Momentum of Will, without its proper vessel, is not omnipotent," the younger one said.

"That's funny for _you_ two to say…" the Orochi answered back, not expecting them to laugh hysterically.

"The scrolls only are a _record_ of our power and yours, Serpent God… _we_ are already at full strength."

The charged, knowing the Orochi would be dealt with swiftly.

A/N: With Geese and company preparing to spring the trap against the Orochi in hopes of finding out more about this mysterious force, things are twisting further and further. When Cheng's archaeology exhibit comes to Southtown, riots begin, and both Terry Bogard and Geese Howard find themselves caught in the middle in Total War.


	35. Total War

A/N: Sorry for not updating so soon… I'm trying to force myself to at least update them whenever I can. Anywhoo… it's not TOO much past Halloween… so the Omake will still be in.

The sun was setting.

The man known as Sokaku Mochizuki knew that the act itself was nothing evil, but as he clutched his staff, he knew that danger was nearing.

An intense struggle between countless powers was nearing… and it was _his_ duty to protect the Jin scrolls from their keepers.

* * *

"You wanted to see me, boss?" Hon Fu asked as he walked into the police commissioner's office. The Hong Kong cop wasn't sure what was the matter…

… no… Hon Fu knew what this was about. "Yamazaki, right?" he asked.

His boss, a man by the name of Dorai, nodded before sliding a few photos to Hon Fu. "Satellite images with your favorite psychotic Yakuza thug."

Hon Fu took a look, noticing blurs of red and blue in several of them. "I don't understand…"

Dorai turned away from Hon Fu and looked up at the back wall. "These were pictures taken near Southtown only a few weeks ago. Considering that the sponsors for this year's King of Fighters have decided to have the final round against the current host there, we're suspecting something. We've contacted the FBI and have gotten the green light for a single agent…

Dorai shifted in his seat and turned back along with a series of transportation papers. "And considering our relationship with Billy Kane… I couldn't think of a better man for the job."

* * *

"Uh… are you sure I need to read ALL these books?" Kasumi said in very broken, but permissible English. Her arms were laden with piles of books by great English and American writers, many of them the works of Gertrude Stein.

King looked at Kasumi and put a hand on her shoulder. "Yes. Because I want you to actually be fluent enough in English to be able to insult people the way Shakespeare did. We're slated for the opening round of the King of Fighters in Brazil against the Ikaris in three days, after all."

"Well… what about you?" Kasumi asked as King walked out the front door of her bar.

"Duck is keeping things on track tonight… I'm going to scout out that new 'Pao Pao Café' that Richard Meyer put up with Ryo."

* * *

"But considering the conditions and the heightened security this year for the King of Fighters," Mary said as she sat with Lilly, "I think it might be wiser if you went in my stead this year." She had hoped that her short but heartfelt speech had swayed Lilly to actually carve out a name for her in the biggest fighting circuit out there…

… but the Englishwoman shook her head and refused like she had for five years now. "No," Lilly said honestly but not harshly. "It's not my time yet."

"But Lilly, seriously!" Mary said as she stood up, "Geese is out of the fighting business more or less… he stays in practice just in case Terry springs up and-"

"I know that," Lilly answered, "But it's not my place yet to be the Hakkyokusieken representative. Besides, if I enter… then it wouldn't be right for Geese."

"Why?" Mary asked again, realizing she was hitting a brick wall here.

"Because Geese has yet to settle a single thing he did wrong… and I owe it to Kyokugenryu to wait until Geese has finally buried the last sins of his past."

Mary sighed as she shrugged. "If you insist… I'm sure Geese wouldn't care for taking the slot…." Her phone suddenly began beeping, so Mary flipped it open. "Ryan here… I'm listening Kevin, what is it? WHAT?" She suddenly looked down at Lilly and bowed apologetically once. "I'm sorry, we'll have to finish this later." She hung up and sprinted out the door, yelling out one last thing before leaving. "Lilly, you might want to get your school fighting fit right now!"

* * *

King and Ryo had just been enjoying the time together and moving in for a romantic kiss among one of the quieter parts of the Pao Pao Café 2 when a young girl stumbled up to their table and began speaking incoherent Chinese.

"Uh, excuse me?" Ryo asked as they got a better look at the young girl. "Do you work here?"

The girl began sweating as she laughed half-heartedly. "I'm sorry… it's a bit complicated… but you can call me Xiangfei… Li Xiangfei… and…"

"And why are you our waitress?" King asked, to which the girl immediately muttered something about the ads saying 'all you can eat'…

"Oh," Ryo answered. "Well… if you wouldn't mind, could we just have a few more minutes please?"

Xiangfei nodded and then walked away, with both Ryo and King looking at each other before the woman simply said, "Well… that could've gone worse…"

Ryo and King then heard somebody shout something obscene. They turned to the massive big-screen TV, where they both saw the man that had tried to kill Cheng Sinzan two years ago… Ryuji Yamazaki…

* * *

It was _good_ to be in control of his own body again as Ryuji sat in front of the camera, the unconscious bodies of the entire television crew scattered around the studio as he sat at the desk.

"Hello, Southtown," he said, going over what the Jin twins had told him to say, "And I am here due to a particular exhibition that will be going down at your local museum… three particular scrolls that I would wish to acquire. Now… where do _you_ fit into all of this?"

* * *

White sat at his desk and absorbed everything the thug said.

"I will give one hundred million dollars to the man or woman that manages to bring the Jin scrolls to me within one week… and for those of you that do not desire money whatsoever… you may wish to take a look at what's about to happen to the East Side Park…"

White remained passive through the explosion that rocked the building before reaching for his phone. Looked like Jivatama was right about the Jin Twins arriving… and White felt there would be only one person possessing the clout necessary to keep things rolling.

"Kain? Yes… situations here in Southtown require me to… take matters into my own hands, if you understand my meaning. It shouldn't take long, but for the moment, I am entrusting _you_ with making sure the King of Fighters '96 will have its finals held in Southtown. Clear? Good."

White stood up and casually threw his gloves aside.

There would be blood soon.

* * *

"And in one week, if I do not have the scrolls, then one landmark a night will be destroyed in far more devastating ways. Thank you Southtown… goodnight, and good luck."

"Having Southtown as the site for the finals is out of the question!" shouted one businessman as Goenitz and Maki sat at a desk with the other sponsors for this year's King of Fighters. "Things are far too risky now!"

"You raise an intelligent point," Maki said, "Southtown is dangerous to keep as the location for the final round… but despite the bombing… nothing serious has happened. A few looters, but nothing truly destructive."

"But there still remains the risk of another attack like the one that turned the East Side Park into a literal hell hole!" shouted another as she slammed a group of pictures onto the table showing the park to now be home to eerie blue flames and skeletal remains of dragons… as well as the corpses of the police officers that had tried to get in there.

"_That_," came another voice, "Can be dealt with easily." The group turned to see a blonde-haired young man that Goenitz and Maki only knew through reputation… although a particular Hakkyokusieken heir would remember beating him around a bit once before.

Kain R. Heinlein pulled up a seat and looked at the others. "The problem rests concerning the Jin scrolls, correct? They are still, unfortunately, en route to Southtown due to some tragic communications failure, correct?"

"Communications failure?" Maki probed.

Kain turned to her before answering. "Unfortunately, the Metatron Foundation's resources are spread too thin at the moment… an antiquated armored car with a damaged radio is bringing them in."

"Purely accidental, though," Goenitz mused, "Or perhaps something ulterior motive?"

Kain smiled and stood up before walking away. "What ulterior motive. The Metatron Foundation wishes to build a better world, nothing more. Can _you_ say the same, Leopold Goenitz, concerning Kagura Corp.'s financial relationship with Geese Howard?"

"Geese Howard," Goenitz stated, "struggles for greatness without hiding his past mistakes. Can we say the same for the Metatron Foundation?"

* * *

The previously mentioned East Side Park was not as barren as had previously been alluded to, however, because two smaller figures stood among it, meditating and delving into the chaos that was engulfing Southtown.

"Just a few more days and the scrolls will arrive, brother," Jin Chonrei said as he opened up one eye. "Things are still going to plan, more or less…"

"The riots were less effective than we hoped, though," his younger brother, Jin Chonshu answered.

The elder Jin brother stood up, however and grinned as he raised his hand up and fired an intense energy stream into the ground a few yards away. "Many of Southtown's great fighters will be leaving soon, however… and it is _then_ that the true riots will begin…"

"These the last ones?" Mary asked as several Southtown police officers carted away the last rioters.

Kevin Rian, who shared no relationship to his superior, nodded. "Yeah. Just a couple of punks… the courts will take care of everything from here."

"And Yamazaki?"

Kevin nodded again. "We've got men looking everywhere for him. He'll be found by the deadline."

_Jeez… leaving Southtown like this for the goddamn tournament…_ Mary thought as she flipped open her cell phone. "Billy? Oh, Joe… whatever… Things have shaped up here, I'll meet you at the airport. What? Who? _HIM?_"

"Who?' Kevin asked.

Mary shook her head and then looked up at the sky. "Don't worry… you've got the best Yamazaki-hunter there is right here in Southtown!"

* * *

Billy couldn't believe it as he was embracing his good friend, surprised to see him here. "I can't believe you're actually here!"

"Well," Hon Fu answered, "Yamazaki is here somewhere, so it makes sense, right?"

"Yeah, well… just watch out for Billy's little sister…" Joe added.

"Don't worry sir, I will do all I can to protect your girlfriend and Billy's sister," Hon Fu answered… at which point Billy and Joe just looked at each other before bursting out in sustained laughter.

"No…" Joe continued, "I didn't mean _that_ kind of watch out for her… just don't try to piss her off, seriously."

"He'll be fine," Billy said as he gave his staff a few spins. "I hate to cut and run, but…"

"Don't worry," Hon Fu said as he bowed once. "Southtown is in good hands."

* * *

"Back to Mexico, huh?" Robert said as he looked at the papers for their opening round. He, Ryo, and Yuri were at the Kyokugenryu dojo with Takuma, the elder Sakazaki having managed to put down what trouble had been going on.

"Our new dojo needs publicity… and the Mexican government is paying for the advertising, of course!" Takuma said while flexing a muscle. "And besides, it'll be nice to see if you can beat Team Fatal Fury, since your two groups never had the pleasure of facing each other… and if not, at least the losers can come back here to help out."

"Well then," Yuri said as she pointed to the airport, "Let's go!"

* * *

Night… less than twenty-four hours after Yamazaki's declaration. Geese didn't know much, but he had plenty of what he already had.

First, Yamazaki was again in his right mind… the Orochi wouldn't blow up a _park_ of all places, which meant something else had stepped in the way… likely worse than the Orochi.

Second, with the King of Fighters going on, the top-tier fighters would be distracted, and Goenitz and the rest had their own worries to deal with. He couldn't afford to enter the tournament this time, but he knew _next _time, he'd defend his title for the first time.

A blaring phone, however, knocked him out of his focus.

"Howard here."

"Mr. Howard, your reputation is well known… especially to those of the more… _mystic_ persuasion."

"Who is this?" Geese asked.

"My name is Sokaku Mochizuki… and I known much of what is going on with the Serpent Gods."

"WHAT?" Geese screamed.

"Rest assured, I am on your side," Sokaku continued, "But above all else, _you must not let the scrolls fall into the wrong hands_. Geese Howard, few men exist that can challenge the might of gods. Fewer still remain in Southtown… I will be contacting you again soon. Until then, do what you can."

The phone went dead, and Geese was speechless as he hung it up.

"Who was it?" Marie asked as she walked up to Geese.

"Uh? Oh… somebody that was just putting more pressure on me during this…"

"Well then go." Marie leaned close and kissed him once before moving away.

"What?"

Marie shook her head almost as if she was amused. "Geese… just head out and do what you have to. I know you'll come back."

* * *

"You're late," King said as her least favorite bimbo ninja walked into her bar late at night.

"Does it matter?" Mai asked as she saw Kasumi with the bartender. "This our new teammate?"

King confirmed it. "Yeah… went to Mexico during that whole Wyler incident to confront Ryo but ended up helping him out. Since Yuri was joining his team, Ryo thought it might be smart to compensate, and she's not revenge-bound like _you_ are."

"Watch it," Mai shot back, "Or you might find yourself missing another teammate."

Kasumi noted the tension between the two and tried to break it with what "proper" English she knew. "Can't we just let this slide. After all… uh… isn't this the likes of which friendships are broken upon?"

Mai turned to her with a confused look and then back to King… and then to the massive pile of books behind Kasumi. "Whatever… I'll see you at the plane…"

* * *

_Girlfriend team… check. _Thought Terry Bogard as he stood on one of the many rooftops of Southtown, looking at the fiery remains of the East Side Park. _Kyokugenryu team… check. Fatal Fury team…_ he clenched his fist just thinking that Geese had stolen his hat. _Check…_

There were still a few threats here he knew of… namely that damned Geese Howard and Takuma Sakazaki… but the others were no serious challenge to him.

"Okay, move out."

Like a swarm of locust, he and a horde of Shiranui ninjas dropped down to the streets.

A/N: While Kyo preps for his first match thinking all the focus is on him, Lilly Kane finds herself in the fight of her life against Terry Bogard, and even her great power seems not enough! In the meantime, White again gets in a finger-poking mood, and the Jin Twins realize just what kind of power Geese wields in Arrival of the Scrolls.

Omake time!

The Return of the Rival Team -or- I'll Take the Crazy Dream Over Kim and Andy

Eiji Kisaragi had been doing some serious thinking in these past few days… specifically the fact that he was the sanest of the members of the Rival Team.

On one side, you had Andy… who saw something in that damned floozy nobody else did. And on the other side, you had Kim Kaphwan and his 'evil' sense… which he'd thought been malfunctioning when he looked in a mirror.

And here he was… teaming up with them again when he was actually starting to get along with Ryo and the gang…

Screw it… he didn't have to worry about Yagami, right?

So here he was, reading a shonen-ai… I mean… SHOUJO-ai manga about two people named Hyoga and Shun… that didn't happen to be from "Saint Seiya" whatsoever…

Ah, screw it. Sure they had long flowing manes, but they just weren't feminine-looking enough for Eiji to convince himself.

Without anything else to do, Eiji chucked the book behind him, where it bonked into Kaphwan, who immediately declared Eiji "evil" for the fifteenth time that day. Giving up more or less on his two over-zealous teammates, Eiji sat back and closed his eyes to sleep…

… and awoke to find himself at some kind of evil and twisted version of the Kyokugenryu dojo…

"Hey, Geki! What the hell are you doing here?" came what sounded like Ryo's voice, but when Eiji turned, he saw Ryo's traditional orange outfit replaced with a white one… and the Raging Tiger had _brown_ hair…

"What? Ryu! What the hell is going on here?" Eiji screamed, realizing his voices sounded totally different.

"Ryu? Wait a second… what's going on here?" They both dashed to the mirror, screaming when the realized they had both somehow been turned into the people they had been based on from Capcom fighting games.

Another scream not to far away caused Eiji to dash away, seeing a scrawny Brazilian kid looking at himself in a mirror.

"THIS CAN'T BE!" Marco Rodriguez yelled, "I've been changed from the SNK Brazilian Kyokugenryu fighter that hit like a tank into the sucky Capcom Brazilian Ansatsuken fighter that I was based on!"

"Wait!" Eiji said as he looked at him. "You got changed too?"

Marco nodded. "There has to be some way out of this bizarre alternate universe! But what?"

Another scream caused them to run into the next room… seeing what appeared to be Little Red Riding Hood's twisted little gun-carrying sister.

"GRAH! NOW _I'VE _BEEN TURNED INTO THE CAPCOM CHARACTER I'M PARTIALLY BASED ON!" Shouted Malin.

(Five hours later and a billion screams later)

It was a unique crowd, if you could consider it that. It possessed the likes of Ash Crimson in Remy's body, Vice and Mature in Juni and Juli's bodies, Leona with Cammy's body, and many, _many_ more.

"There's got to be a way for us to get back!"

"But how?" shouted another before a gigantic bolt of negative energy shot down to the ground. And out of it stepped…

… Jedah Dohma… the Vampire Savior.

"Anybody know where Yashiro or Shermie is?" said the demon, causing everybody to look dumbstruck.

"Wait a second… _CHRIS?_" Leona said in shock.

"Makes sense, if you think about it…" Shingo in Sakura's form said. "Vampire Savior… Orochi, Savior of the World…"

"But how do _you_ know about _that?_" Benimaru said, ignoring the fact he was Edge from "Rival Schools".

"How do _you_ know that!" Lilly shouted in her Karin Kanzuki body.

"Does it matter?" everybody shouted in unison.

"Screw it," Chris said as he just turned to floor into blood and sent everybody home.

* * *

Eiji woke up screaming, his ninja outfit stuck to his body due to what seemed to be a gallon of sweat.

Forget sleeping… he'd pass the time some other way.

"Hey… Andy…"

"Yeah?" the American said.

"Can I borrow that Sudoku book?"


	36. Arrival of the Scrolls

A/N: Well, here it is after quite a bit of a wait… the next part of Fatal Fury 3 and the beginning of the King of Fighters '96!

(Insert disclaimer here)

"Boss, she's back," shouted Clark as Leona again walked onto the grounds of the base in civilian clothing. Clark and Ralf hadn't seen her since the Wyler incident, and even though she seemed to have regained some of her composure, Leona was still seemed less than at ease. She smiled and waved at them as the two crack-shot mercenaries walked up to her. Before yawning… it was getting dark out and the jet-lag from flying from Japan hadn't been fantastic.

"You okay?" Clark asked.

"Enough of it," Leona answered, "There's a few things I still need answered about… well, what happened, but that'll have to wait for a little longer. All I can really focus on now is the tournament… after all, Todoh is going to be one of our first opponents."

* * *

"See anything weird down there?" asked Kevin Rian as he and his partner, Leon S. Bluefield combed the grittier streets of Southtown in hopes of tracking down Ryuji Yamazaki.

Leon shook his head when he looked around the corner. "Nothing serious…"

"Alright, I'll contact that Hon Fu guy… let him know it's clean here," Kevin said as he flipped open his radio holster and reached for it.

Clink. Clink.

Leon turned back to where he had been a minute ago, drawing his sidearm at the point of the sound… and was completely dumbfounded by who he saw walking towards him.

"Kevin… we got a clown here…"

White looked up at them both with an amused look. "What are you doing here?" he asked almost jovially as he looked at the two.

"Tracking down Yamazaki, now what about you?" Kevin asked.

White just chuckled as he removed his hat and sarcastically bowed to both of them. "Me? I am merely a free man in this corrupt world. And as for being here…" he checked his watch, "There's going to be an air-drop here in roughly two minutes. Now I would greatly appreciate if you two would scurry off and do your gumshoe 'cop thing' someplace else. Otherwise, I'm going to kill you."

Leon and Kevin opened fire without a second thought, although White casually spun his staff around like he was in some sort of Broadway musical before the guns were out of bullets.

Kevin and Leon went to reload…

… and then White was in front of Kevin, smashing him in the gut with his cane and then _dodging_ Leon's shots and then doing the cruelest thing White could do to the man.

Touch him and then kill him.

Kevin knew police officers and detectives that had lost partners before… but he had only been regaining composure and focus when Leon just _burst…_ showering both he and White in blood.

That was it… Kevin just lost it… how could he _not_? Powerhouses like Geese Howard and Takuma Sakazaki were one thing…

… this "Free Man" just walked over to him and smeared a single scrap of skin in Kevin's face, enjoying the well-trained and disciplined man just scream like a baby and run away.

White then wiped the blood from his watch and looked down and smiled. A small package was drifting down via a small parachute, and White casually opened it up and then took out what was inside…

… Two of the Jin Scrolls.

* * *

"The ultimate slap in the face," Iori muttered as he sat in his dilapidated apartment, clenching his fist as he looked at the tournament brackets. He would be slated to fight Team Psycho Soldier tomorrow just down the street… an easy win considering his growing Orochi strength and that of Vice and Mature… but on the other side of the brackets was Team Japan, which would be fighting against two of his old teammates in Japan as well.

Yet the way the fights had been determined made it so Iori would have to wait until the final round to fight Kyo, his likely gay friend, and some virgin Judo fighter.

Iori got up, however, upon hearing his door knock, and opened it to see Vice and Mature there, the latter leaning against a wall.

"You know… you never answered that question about if you were planning on raping Kusanagi," Vice said with a sadistic smirk.

"No," Iori said as he walked past them off to his first match, "When I'm done with him I'll just tie him down and sick wild pigs on him."

* * *

"Uh… Athena," Sie started to say as he looked around the street they would fight in, "I think all these people would be a pretty big security risk…"

"Oh nonsense," she said, "The authorities will move them far enough away when the fight comes and all…" Athena then looked down to see a very young boy with a yellow outfit standing behind Sie. "And who's that?"

Sie looked down and immediately stepped aside. "Oh, him? This is Bao… he's a new student that Master Chin took up… he likes to keep to himself a lot…"

"Well, hello anyways," Athena said as she stretched out her hand. "And how are you?"

Bao hesitantly reached out and shook it. "I'm okay… I just came to see you and Sie fight… I've heard a lot about how good you are. You placed second in the King of Fighters '94, right?"

Athena confirmed that, thinking back and realizing both of her defeats had been by the same many she had quite the crush on… _Oh well…_ she thought. _It could be worse_.

* * *

It was now past midnight in Southtown as Geese walked out of his house, pausing and turning back on more time before truly setting out. The Metatron Foundation's truck would be reaching Southtown within the hour, and he had a tight window of opportunity…

Unfortunately, a particular pair of demonic twins had something else in store as they watched from above…

"Handle him first, Chonshu?" asked Chonrei as they both stood on the rooftops.

"He's weaker than Sakazaki… but I guess he's still quite respected among mere mortals…"

"He stood up to Goenitz, so I hear."

"That's not impossible, mind you…"

"Oh well," Chonrei said as he again looked at the hapless fighter. "Five… four… three… two… _one_…"

Before Geese knew what had happened, a ball of light suddenly appeared around him and then he vanished. "Well then… back to meet our guest at the East Side Park?" Chonrei asked.

"Certainly!"

* * *

BRRRIIINNGGG!

"Hrmmffr?" Lilly muttered as she woke up from her phone ringing. She quickly grabbed it and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. "Yeah?"

"Miss Kane, is that you?" came Hon Fu's voice.

"Just call me Lilly," the Hakkyokusieken master responded.

"I apologize, but I'm calling for a very important reason."

"Where's Geese? Weren't you two going to handle this scroll thing with that mystery phone person too?"

"That's the problem," Hon Fu answered. "We were going to meet up… but Geese is twenty minutes late."

Silence.

"Hello? Lilly, are you there? Lilly!"

"What? Oh, sorry, I was getting dressed. West end of town?"

"Northwest, by the railroad tracks."

"I'll be there in fifteen minutes. Until then, get there and keep an eye out for any psychos."

* * *

To be fair, White didn't really prefer just waiting for the truck to come… but he knew that if it came this way, which he knew it would, so would Yamazaki.

The plan was simple. Lure the Orochi's vessel here with a bait too tempting to pass up, capture it, and then use the Orochi as a pawn, with the Jin Scrolls and their power as leverage against the snake.

White didn't expect to see the truck come rolling at him so soon.

No… he didn't expect to see the truck come _rolling_ period, let alone in a crumpled up ball.

"I believe you posses the other two scrolls," came a fierce Japanese voice. "I cannot permit you to hold them."

"Oh?" White asked as he saw the man come into view with a staff in his hand, "And who might you be?"

"Merely a simple protector of the planet," Sokaku answered.

White looked at the man again before taking out his two scrolls and casually throwing them on the ground between them. "Fine… you seem like a _very_ powerful man… I probably wouldn't stand a chance against you…"

Sokaku looked at them and then at White. "You made a very wise choice."

White waited, flexing his fingers… the distant light from town was enough for him to pin down where Sokaku was… he was waiting for the opportune second…

Sokaku looked at White and then reached down for the scrolls…

"DIE!" White snarled as he sprang into action with outstretched hands. Sokaku looked up quickly and caught them, at which point White grinned.

But nothing happened.

Sokaku then slammed his fist into White and sent him flying away, the Addis sub-leader utterly horrified by the attack.

"You… the… I… touch… how… can't… dead…" White began babbling in confusion… Sokaku had no aura to repel physical contact… _how?_

"Any man can overcome such a force as your own," Sokaku stated as he readied his staff and slammed it into the ground, "All it requires is a disciplined mind!"

A bolt of lightning shot down from the sky, electrocuting White without mercy.

* * *

It had been dark, but as Terry and his troop of ninjas had been moving towards Howard residence, a lightning strike caused them all to turn at the sight, and then Terry looked down to see… _her_…

Terry turned to his underlings and waited until they were all looking at their master for command. "Check that out… it might be something notable." Without another word, Terry dropped to the ground as the Shiranui ninja turned and went the way they had come…

Terry ran with towards them for a hundred yards before stopping and jumping down into the dark alley. He waited… waited for what seemed hours before turning and flinging himself at her.

"BUSTER WOLF!"

The illumination of his fist let him see the shock in Lilly Kane's face right before it plowed into her, sending the bitch spiraling away.

"You…" the Hungry Wolf growled as he clenched his fist, "_YOU ROBBED ME OF KILLING GEESE HOWARD FOUR YEARS AGO!_"

He came down on her like a pack of wild dogs, ruthlessly overcoming her shoddy excuse for the Atami Nage and buried his fist in her gut and sent her into the wall.

Lilly looked up and got to her feet as quickly as she could and looked up at Terry, his blonde hair loose and hanging down before she sprang back up and charged.

"Child's play…" Terry taunted as Lilly swung a fierce backhand at him. Terry leaned out of the way and blocked Lilly's follow-up with her other hand jabbing at him… but he didn't expect her to simultaneously kick into his kneecap. _That slut!_ Terry winced as he slammed his hand into the ground and blasted her away with a Round Wave.

Lilly managed to flip back to her feet and duck Terry's Crack Shoot, her hands catching Terry's strike and then letting her slam him into the wall.

_Did I_… Lilly thought as she stood in wonder.

No.

"TRIPLE GEYSER!"

The three destructive blasts of energy shot into Lilly, but she did manage to summon up a dark red Raging Storm as a means of protection… but Terry just kept pouring energy into the attack.

"Come on, girl… you can't keep it up forever," he prodded as he saw Lilly also tried to keep up the attack…

_Shoot!_ Lilly thought… _This can't…_

WHAM!

Her strength gave out, the attack ravaged her. Terry raising his hand up for the killing blow…

* * *

Sokaku looked at White's electrified and ruined body before walking up to it. This could easily be an act. He struck the killer several times with his staff to be sure… it looked like White was incapable of withstanding the abuse he could deliver.

Sokaku turned and began walking away, only to stop dead.

Literally.

"It's the world's best acting," White whispered in Sokaku's ear, the pale-faced man's cane having been driven through the monk's heart. His hand drifted to Sokaku's, taking the three scrolls and letting the man's body fall down, dead.

Victory…

But White could hear something… something close…

He quickly spun and bent out of the way of a lethal attack by a Shiranui ninja, immediately tapping it with his finger and causing it to burst before turning to the others.

* * *

Terry suddenly stopped cold.

Lilly could wait… there was someone bigger to worry about…

For one last hurrah, Terry kicked Lilly in the face until his shoe had a nice layer of blood on it and then took off.

* * *

When Geese recovered consciousness, he found himself in a burning wasteland filled with gigantic draconian skeletons… he knew what this place was… the East Side Park or whatever was left of it.

A red blur suddenly dashed around Geese before finally stopping in front of him, a feminine looking child standing there.

"Hello, Geese Howard," Jin Chonshu said. "I'm sure I know what you're thinking…"

"Are you a boy or a girl?"

Chonshu suddenly looked rather flustered before regaining his composure. "No! And besides, you should show more respect and fear for the last person you will ever see in your pathetic existence!"

A/N: Geese finds himself stuck in the middle of hell… and the only way out is through. When the Jin twins unite their power, can even Geese overcome the force? What's more… Hon Fu is heading to a literal battlefield where he must face the power of White, Terry, and an arriving Yamazaki _at the same time!_ And amidst all that… The King of Fighters '96 rages in Double Raging Storm.

Eiji's Doppelganger -or- "_STRIDER _CAME OUT IN 1988, DAMMIT!"

As Eiji stepped off the plane back into Japan, he looked at his two teammates again. He had a level of familiarity with Andy… that happens when you get beat up by a psycho with somebody… but Kim was just plain weird.

As they got off the airplane, however, they saw someone was standing a triplet of fighters standing there too.

The first wore a purple ninja outfit, with a flowing red scarf covering his mouth and a weapon that was the mix of a tonfa and a sword. The next was a brown-haired ninja wearing a red gi, and the third was somebody that Hon Fu would recognize being a pin-up in the Hong Kong police department.

"YOU!" Eiji shouted as he pointed at his rival and ultimate enemy… Strider Hiryu. "FOR TOO LONG HAVE I BEEN RIDICULED BECAUSE SOMEBODY THINKS WE LOOK ALIKE!"

"YOU!" Andy shouted as he pointed at his original Capcom character… Guy. "FOR TOO LONG HAVE PEOPLE BEEN COMPARING ME TO YOU JUST BECAUSE WE'RE BOTH NINJAS!"

"YOU!" Kim shouted as he pointed at the main kicker of Fatal Fury 2's rival game (Street Fighter II)… Chun Li. "FOR TOO LONG HAVE YOU BEEN A FORCE OF EVIL IN THE WORLD!"

"SHUT UP!" Everyone else shouted at Kaphwan.

"I WILL NOT!" Kim yelled as he struck a dramatic pose. "I alone am-"

"ZAN'EI REPPA!"

"RAGNAROK!"

"HAZAN TENSHOU KYAKU!"

"YAMI KARI!"

"BUSHIN MUSOURENKA!"

"**THE WORLD**!"

Everyone turned and looked at Dio Brando, the central villain of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure hovering up there in the air, a steamroller about to crush Kim.

"Uh… no," Eiji said, "We still need three members, after all…"

"Oh," Dio said as he vanished.

Strider then glared at Eiji and Eiji glared at Strider.

"You've ruined my life!" Eiji and Strider shouted in perfect unison, pointing accusing fingers at each other. "What? What are you talking about? AND STOP SAYING WHAT I'M SAYING RIGHT AS I SAY IT! SERIOUSLY! I MEAN IT! … BOOBIES! DAMMIT!"

"I'll take care of the talking," Andy said. "Look… the fact is Hiryu… you came second and everybody thinks Eiji's copying you when he hasn't!"

"But that's insane!" Guy shot back. "The Art of Fighting 2 was made in 1994… yet the original manga of 'Strider' was made in 1988 by Kadokawa Shoten and it was popular enough to spawn a couple of games!"

Eiji was shocked when he heard that… "But that means…"

"Hey, it's not the first time SNK has stolen character appearances," Kim pointed out, "I mean, Jhun Hoon, Kain R. Heinlein, and Young Geese all look like Andy, after all…"

"Sad but true," Andy muttered in a dark and secluded corner.

"To be honest though," Chun Li said to try to pick up everyone's spirits, "Strider and the rest of us are trying to track down the ninja that truly DOES deserve our retribution!"

"What? Who?"

"HIM!" Shouted Guy as he pointed to a particular Dead or Alive ninja named Ryu Hayabusa… "THE DEAD OR ALIVE BASTARD THAT'S GIVING US ALL A BAD NAME!"

"What?" Eiji asked, "How come?"

"Just listen…"

Then… using his superior ninja ears which were obviously superior to normal people ears… Eiji heard… _it._

"Hey look! I'm Eiji or Strider! I'm a crappy 2-D ninja that didn't get his own 3-D game!"

Eiji's face ran red as he and Hiryu lunged.

This wasn't even a matter of honor…

… I was a matter of _2-D_ honor.


	37. Double Raging Storm

A/N: Well, sorry for the abrupt end for Sokaku, all you monk fans. Don't worry though… he'll still get one last hurrah this chapter.

Kyo was rather quite surprised that his team would be up against the Rival Team… which included Terry Bogard's brother, but it bothered him less than he showed. After all… how crazy could this round get?

"As you all can see," the referee said as he pointed to the pointed rings in the arena that both Team Japan and the Rival Team were standing in, "There are various point markers in here, ranging from one all the way to twenty. The purpose of this, is scoring."

"You mean like a bullfight," Goro inquired. The referee nodded.

"Yes, yes. We're planning on having this kind of round every so often just to spice things up, and we thought it would be nice to try it out with your teams!"

"I'm not complaining," Kyo answered as he looked at Eiji and grinned. "I mean, if somebody gets beat in the '20' ring, the fight's essentially over, correct?"

"True," Eiji retorted, "But if the next two people beat their opponents on '19' and anything higher than '1', _their_ team wins, no?"

"That's how it works," the referee said. "We'll be letting the spectators inside in about ten minutes and we'll start the first match in one hour. As for the actual matches themselves…" he reached into his pocket and pulled out three envelopes, showing them to Kyo, Benimaru, and Goro. "Champion's advantage. Take your pick, but don't open until all three are taken."

Eventually, Kyo, Benimaru, and Goro made their decisions and opened the envelopes, pulling out the identities of the match-ups… Kyo vs. Eiji, Goro vs. Kim, and Benimaru vs. Andy, in that order.

"Alright then…" Benimaru said as he charged up and cracked his neck. "We'll get this show on the road in no time!"

* * *

"Uh huh… and where's Yamazaki?" Geese asked as he stared at his childish adversary.

Chonshu simply shrugged. "About to get the Jin scrolls back… As for you… HA!" Jin Chonshu became a blur, punching out at Geese and expecting the man to crumple after one attack.

Instead, Chonshu found his arm caught in some kind of defensive block before he was slammed headfirst into the ground. "Good… the Atami Nage really _does_ work on every kind of physical attack." Geese sprang in the air and smashed down with his hand, Chonshu springing away again at a speed Geese _almost_ couldn't track.

"HAHAHA!" Chonshu laughed as he zipped around Geese in a circle, "You may be able to defend yourself from my strength with that defensive move, but there's no way you can- WAHH!"

Geese had simply stuck out his leg and tripped the poor boy and sent him face-first onto the ground. Geese then grabbed him by his collar and began pounding his face into the floor.

"That's what you do?" Geese rhetorically asked before blasting Chonshu away with a Double Reppuken, "Run around like a little brat and hope nobody realizes your speed may be exceptional, but your _reaction speed_ isn't?"

Chonshu shook his head as he stood up, yelping in surprise as he barely avoided Geese's next strike. When he tried to attack from the side, a Reppuken from Geese's feet flared to life, sending the boy flying into an arrangement of bones and knocking it to the ground.

"You have power and speed, I'll grant you that… more than I do, but you have no knowledge of how to use it," Geese taunted. "As a result, you are pathetic and no threat to me whatsoever."

Chonshu suddenly gulped in fear… _Brother… where are you?_

* * *

_That's the last of them…_ White sighed as he looked around him, the clown look-alike ankle deep in blood and wiped the gruesome remains of his victims from his face. Turning and walking away, he stopped upon seeing a figure on the rooftops spring down, the moonlight barely showing the face of this attacker. "Ah… the Orochi vessel finally arrives," White said as he clapped sarcastically.

Ryuji Yamazaki snorted as he threw off his jacket. "Yeah yeah, shut your pie-hole, asshole. My employers want those scrolls and they even went as far as to say what they're capable of."

"Oh?" White asked as he raised an eyebrow, "And what would _that_ be?"

Ryuji gave him a wide-mouthed smile, even going so far as to let his tongue flop out. "For one, they're a record of the Orochi's power as well as the Jin Twins. What's more… they'll act as a permanent suppressant, driving the Orochi out of me for good. And it's about time I have damned snake out of my head!" His fist lashed out the entire distance, pegging White in the head and causing him to stumble back a bit before he regained his composure.

Looking at Ryuji, White suddenly began laughing. "Idiot…" he said as he readied his staff in one hand while the other clutched the scrolls. "You're as good as-"

"BUSTER WOLF!"

White and Ryuji both turned to see a brilliant blue flame kick up in the darkness, Terry Bogard shooting into White and knocking the psychic killer away, and also knocking the Jin scrolls to the ground where they were concealed in the darkness.

White turned to him and grimaced before smiling. "Oh… oh, _OOOHHHH…._ This is good! I can kill off Terry Bogard right here, right-"

"You wouldn't dare," Terry interrupted, causing White and Ryuji to look at him with a confused look.

"Oh, and why not?"

Terry grinned and he got into a combat stance. "Because that psychic killing ability of yours works on everybody you've touched _at the same time_… and you wouldn't _dare_ losing your precious Orochi vessel." He turned to Ryuji and then bowed. "I honestly must thank you, because due to your punch, gaywad here can't kill me without killing you!"

White grit his teeth and then pointed his staff and Terry. "Fine… every man for himself! Winner takes the Jin scrolls and anything else he might desire!"

"Then I'm in too!" shouted a fourth voice, causing all three of them to turn and see someone standing there only Ryuji recognized.

"How the Hell did YOU get in Southtown?" Yamazaki shouted in shock. Even without a good view of him, Ryuji could tell who had decided to rain on this little criminal parade.

"It's called an airplane," Hon Fu said as he readied his nunchuku, "We law-abiding citizens get to use them and wave at the security cameras without fear of retribution."

Without another word the detective charged into the group, and four metaphorical gods of destruction battled.

* * *

_Lilly…_

…

_Lilly…_

…

_LILLY!_

"It's over…" Lilly Kane muttered as she lay in a small but ever-growing pool of her own blood. "I couldn't do an-"

_Don't feed your master that!_

"Huh? Master Tung? But you're-"

_Dead? If it makes you feel any better… I'm only a figment of your imagination… probably made from the blunt force trauma of Terry's beating._

"Joy."

_But I'm still here, Lilly. Now tell me something… what happened the first year you trained at the Hakkyokusieken academy?_

"Huh? Oh… I was the lowest ranked student… no upper or lower body strength… couldn't even throw a punch correctly, had a terrible streak of losses… the list goes on and on."

_And what made you become the best student I had since Geese?_

"Because I kept going…"

_And why did you do that?_

"Because…" Lilly understood what Tung was saying. Lilly slowly began getting to her feet, calling upon every ounce of her strength, "Because I didn't want Billy to always worry about me! I wanted to be able to stand on my own two feet, and fight for what I wanted!"

_And _that, _Lilly, is what lets you keep going… that's why you get closer to Geese and Terry's level of strength every day. You _can_ surpass them, Lilly!_

"Yeah… yeah!" Lilly said as she pumped her fist into the air. She took off running before she suddenly felt an incredible wave of energy coming from the East Side Park.

If Lilly had never done the Raging Storm before, she would have never recognized the unique signature that let her know it was Geese. Stopping for a moment, Lilly turned and began running towards the East Side Park. _Sorry, Hon Fu… but Geese needs me a lot more if I'm right. And if not, we'll you'll only be a hop, skip, and jump away._

* * *

Chonshu screamed in frustration as Geese casually blocked each and every one of his strikes without effort. The boy then sprang back and fired off a flurry of projectiles, but Geese stopped them all with a perfectly timed Double Reppuken and then blasted Chonshu away even further.

"You really think you're so great, don't you?" Geese asked in all honesty. "You think you're just some wonderful, special little demon boy or girl and can beat the crap out of everyone, correct? Well you _can't_. You can't even beat up one little man in his thirties who hasn't seriously fought in three years. You're nothing. MIGHTING RAGING STORM!"

The torrential, claw-like energy blast struck home, hurting Chonshu infinitely more than the cage-like Raging Storm had only a few minutes ago.

Lying on the ground, Chonshu looked up in horror before he heard another voice behind him.

"Brother… nii-chan…"

Geese looked up to see another boy there, this one wearing blue and having a spiked-up hairstyle. "Ah, you must be his big brother."

"You… you bastard!" Jin Chonrei screamed as he pointed at Geese with an accusing finger. "You'll pay for that!"

* * *

Punches and kicks were flying every which way as Hon Fu tried to wear down Yamazaki, Terry, and White evenly, although he himself was having the hardest time keeping up with the latter two.

Smacking White around with his nunchuku before he managed to catch Yamazaki in the gut, Hon Fu took the brunt of a Triple Geyser, although he did manage to spring out of it before Terry could turn it into a Triple Geyser and kicked out the blonde's legs.

White, however, was suffering the worst against, if only psychologically. White prided himself on his ability to kill with a single touch… a power refined through his psychic prowess. _Yet it was useless here!_ Triggering it would kill Yamazaki along with Hon Fu and Terry, and _he could not let that happen!_

Terry, however, was actually enjoying the brawl for its… simplicity. With so many people around and with every one of them hostile to the others, nobody could afford blocking, instead needing to stay mobile. And thankfully, most of his techniques were not meant to try to evade.

Growling like the wolf he was, Terry sent Hon Fu skyward with a Rising Tackle and was in perfect position for a full power Buster Wolf, but Yamazaki had just pounded him with a flurry of punches into the awaiting staff of White. Terry turned away just in time, sweeping out White's legs and catching Yamazaki's super-stretched arm, inadvertently helping Hon Fu when the Chinese man landed squarely on the thugs arm, kicking both Terry and Ryuji before flipping away.

In fact, however, Ryuji was suffering the most psychologically out of all of them. Terry was doing this only for more power, and he already had plenty of it. White was doing this to use the Orochi inside of him as a pawn. Hon Fu was just being a damned good cop.

For Ryuji, this was _survival_. He wasn't going to be that snake's plaything anymore! He was going to take them all out, dammit!

Snatching Hon Fu by the neck, Ryuji slammed and dragged him across the ground before jumping up and slamming him back down into the ground…

Except due to the dark, Ryuji didn't see one thing.

"POWER GEYSER!"

Both Ryuji and Hon Fu were bombarded by the attack, but it also left Terry vulnerable to being harshly struck by White.

When Ryuji and Hon Fu landed, the rolled away from each other, Hon Fu panting when he noticed the sun was slowly coming up. To be fair, this fight _had_ started well after three in the morning…

"This is about as much fun as I've had in a long time, ladies," Terry said strongly. "Of course, you can't keep it up forever… so let's finish this!"

White glared at Terry and finally decided. If it came to it… he _would_ kill them all… his power wouldn't work if he didn't will it after touching them after three hours and within 500 meters of them. "I'm all in…"

"Same here," Ryuji said defiantly.

"Well then…" Hon Fu finished, "I guess I'll need _both_ of these guys…" He then readied his second nunchuku before they all charged again, each praying the others would destroy themselves.

* * *

Upon seeing Geese Howard, Jin Chonshu had been very confident he would've been able to defeat him. And if not, then certainly his brother could best Geese in single combat.

He had been wrong.

"Deadly Rave!"

Jin Chonrei suffered against Geese's merciless strikes before he finally was sent to the ground too, next to his brother.

"That all?" Geese answered as he walked away.

"I'm sorry…" Chonrei said to his brother as they both slowly got up, "But I thought… I thought you could do it… help you grow… I…"

"It's okay…" Chonshu said as he shook his head. "I understand. But it seems only our combined power stands any hope of defeating Geese, even though he's rather tired by now…"

"Yeah."

"You two still alive?" Geese snapped as he turned around and fired off a pair of Ressatsu bolts. The two brothers dodged to two different sides, and when Geese turned towards Chonrei, Chonshu blasted into him from behind, sending Geese to the ground before the elder brother blasted him with something that looked quite a bit like the "Final Flash".

It hurt far more than Geese had thought, and he suddenly realized that he would have to give his all to keep in this fight now.

Then red and blue energies erupted from both of them, and it almost seemed like every sign of injury Geese had inflicted vanished from both of them.

* * *

Lilly charged at the gigantic barricade that blocked the East Side Park, knowing full well its lethal qualities.

True, a number of Southtown Police officers had been killed upon entering, but _they_ didn't have protective aura to protect themselves with, now did they?

"Aww… look at that…" Jin Chonrei said sadistically as he kicked Geese in the head and sent him flying, the American lacking the strength just at this moment to get back on his feet. Things were going dark for him… and it looked like he wouldn't have the short breather he preciously needed.

"Indeed, brother," Chonshu said. "Together?"

His elder nodded. "Together."

"DOUBLE…"

It couldn't end like this!

"EMPEROR…"

What abut Marie and all the others?

"DRAGON…"

_Please… just a few more seconds!_ Geese silently prayed, _Somehow… somebody!_ Geese had prided himself on rarely losing his game face… but this time he had blown it…

"VOIC-"

Geese had expected an intense energy blast to the head.

He got it… well, it _happened_… but not to him.

Chonshu and Chonrei turned to see a young woman in a red dress, bloody but standing strong, in the Ressatsu stance. The same woman that had blasted them with the concessive force to knock them out of their attack.

"Lilly…"

Lilly Kane turned to Geese and nodded. "I can't do this alone… but together… we can do it, Geese!"

A/N: As day breaks in Southtown, new hope arises as Hon Fu, Lilly Kane, and Geese Howard battle against incredible odds. In the meantime, Team Japan finds the rules for their newest match to be… compromising… when the Rival Team plots their moves so even if they win just one round, the win the match! And when Iori Yagami, Vice, and Mature confront the Psycho Soldier Team… they suddenly discover they have a Serpent God to worry about in Shesha's Return.


	38. Shesha's Return

A/N: Again, apologies for update delay. I was forcing myself to finish a chapter for another fanfiction that I rarely update as it is. But rest assured, "A Single Decision" is back on my to-do list at the top!

Chonshu and Chonrei both lunged at their opponent that shared their adversaries, Lilly and Geese respectively. But the same wall that had prevented a single Jin Twin to be able to lay a finger on Geese once again, surfaced, as two different renditions of the Atami Nage caught both of them. While Chonrei had already experienced the head-mashing displeasure of Geese's, the concessive force of Lilly's backhand almost caused his neck to snap.

Then, the Hakkyokusieken masters struck back.

"Ressatsu!"

Blue and red bolts fired from hands pounded into the stronger Jins before their creators lunged. There was a look on Lilly's face as she wondered whether to try _it_ out, or just stick with something she already had the kinks out of. Geese was already blasting Chonrei with a Mighty Raging Storm to finish the brat off, so Lilly decided to have a little fun anyways.

Chonshu charged, she ducked down, slamming her hands against the ground and hoping her alteration of the Raging Storm would be up to specifications…

"Serpent Raging Storm," she said with a bit more quiet than one would expect… and then everything went to Hell for Chonshu. The red, cage-like Raging Storm blasted him into the air, but at the point where each "bar" in the cage met, the images of red serpents lashed out at him, striking Chonshu more times than he could count.

* * *

The fight was still going nowhere for White, Hon Fu, Terry, or Ryuji. No one had the others down and out. None of them were truly running on fumes yet either. And on the ground the Jin Scrolls remained.

Yet Hon Fu knew that time was running out. He couldn't last as long as Terry, he knew that for certain. And White's uncanny but lethargic fighting style was serving him well too. Hon Fu had to think… there was some way of making them defeat each other… there had to be.

As they again charged at each other, Hon Fu unfortunately got pounded by a Rising Tackle, but he rebounded and kicked back at Terry before spinning around and dodging a punch by Ryuji, if only for the fact that Yamazaki himself was trying to dodge getting hit by White. It was nothing more than pure chaos, that is, until Terry Bogard finally sprung his trap.

To be fair, Bogard had to wait quite a while for a train to come, but he could see and hear it in the distance. And then all he had to do was wait a tad bit longer, grab the scrolls, throw them in front of the train, and then Buster Wolf it into all three of them. Easy enough.

Except Yamazaki just so happened to grab a hold of Terry's leg during all of this, and when Terry looked back, he saw the look of a desperate man, White and Hon Fu only inches away.

Terry didn't have time, and half his body was still being held down by the railroad tracks…

"GET THE HELL OFF ME!" Terry screamed as he kicked Ryuji off and flung himself past the train, hand reaching out to grab his prizes, fingers wrapping around the scrolls…

Except _then_ Hon Fu had pounced on him, and Terry's grip slackened slightly. Hon Fu grabbed for the scrolls, but Terry blasted him away with a Buster Wolf and then turned to see White and Yamazaki having sprung up over the train and where coming down at him. Two Power Geysers handled them nicely, even knocking Yamazaki under the wheels as Terry instead decided to use the train as a means of escape.

He jumped onto the caboose, looking at Hon Fu's unconscious form, Yamazaki's likely dead one, and a missing White. And he still had the scrolls in his hand… and a chain.

_A chain?_

Terry looked down in shock, seeing that instead he was holding only one Jin Scroll… the other two actually being the two sticks of one of that damned detective's nunchuku. Terry looked back again… and saw Hon Fu was gone.

"You win this round," Terry growled. "But next time you won't be as lucky." In the meantime, he _did_ have one scroll. Might was well take a look at it…

* * *

"DEADLY RAVE!" Lilly and Geese screamed in unison as the Jin Twins were again battered around and slammed into each other, the perfectly angled impact causing them to bounce off each other and then experience another round of Raging Storms. "Ressatsu! Reppuken! Double Reppuken! Shippuken!"

Projectile after projectile hammered Chonshu and Chonrei until at last… they fell to the ground… twitching and in utter horror after witnessing the power of two simple humans that had trained in Hakkyokusieken with all their hearts.

The flames vanished, the skeletons eroded away, the East Side Park was back to normal.

* * *

As Team Psycho Soldiers waited for their opponents, Athena thought about Iori himself. To be fair, she didn't know much about him, albeit the fact he had essentially demolished the Girlfriend team on his own. That didn't bode well at all, but Yagami fortunately fought with a style Athena had already faced twice before, Kyo's style.

And besides, it wasn't like Sie or Chin were slouches in combat or would pee their pants or anything from Yagami's gigantic and imposing figur-

"So you're the bitch whose single robbed me of being number one on the charts last month," Yagami's voice drawled as the crowd parted, revealing Yagami standing there, two attractive women Athena recognized as Rugal's former secretaries on either side of him. "I'm going to enjoy this."

"That's very nice, but you'll have to get by me first," Sie shot back, clenching his fists and then pointing accusingly at Iori, who just put one hand on his face and then let off a single quiet laugh.

"Who the hell do you think you are, Phoenix Wright?" This time it was Vice taking a potshot. "All that pointing and everything, it's really pathetic if you ask me."

"Whatever… one on one matches like usual?" Athena asked. Iori agreed, and both teams pondered who they should have fight first.

* * *

He was dying. Ryuji could tell that. There was nothing he could possibly do since much of his abdomen had been crushed beneath train tracks. Nothing whatsoever.

_I can not afford to let you die_…

Ryuji's blood ran cold.

"No… no… you're gone…"

_With the Jins defeated, their suppression of me has become lax… and I was always here. You should be thanking me… you're going to get another chance… and considering our timing and the fact the King of Fighters '96 will have their finals here… Yuki Kushinida _will_ die…_

"What's with her then," Ryuji muttered, "What makes her so special?"

_If she doesn't die, something bad will happen. That is all I am at liberty to say._ _And now, I'll take that body back._

Ryuji screamed as the Orochi spirit again took him.

* * *

Staggering out of the park, Geese and Lilly both felt proud that they had saved Southtown… although they both were in the mood for just relaxing and recovering after that battle, but the sight of Hon Fu with two Jin Scrolls made them both feel a bit better.

"Hey there!" Hon Fu shouted as he ran to them, staggering and almost falling after reaching them, "Look what I got!"

"Two of the scrolls…" Geese said, "What of the third?"

Hon Fu shook his head and sighed. "Sorry… Bogard got it."

Geese was silent for a moment before he held out his hand. "Scrolls. Now."

Hon Fu handed them to Geese, who handed one to Lilly. "Start looking for anything referring Serpent Gods."

"Huh? Why?" Lilly asked. Geese just pulled open his scroll and began scanning what was inside.

"Call it a hunch."

* * *

"So I get the pretty brunette?" Chin Gentsai asked as Vice stepped up to face him.

"Shove it, drunk-ass," Vice answered as she charged and swung her fist forward, exploiting her Orochi abilities to the fullest.

Chun ducked under the fist, slinging his gourd up into Vice's chin, and the woman bent back. Too bad for Chin that Vice was rather flexible, and she recoiled back, grabbing Chin and pounding him into the ground. Vice then kicked him away.

"Need to be better, old man," Vice said as Chin rolled back to his feet and indulged in a few mouthfuls of sake. "I said better, not drunker." She charged and sent another swift punch, but Chin sent his fist into Vice's foot. Chin then blew a massive burst of flame into Vice, enjoying the fact that the maneuver actually had success against the secretary.

Chin then sent another wave of flame and then a third, and even Yagami was awestruck at the intensity of it. Smoke curled away from Vice as she collapsed to the ground… but before the announcer could even begin to call the match for the Psycho Soldiers, another figure nearly flat-out decapitated Chin, the old man ducking in time to save his head but not much of his hair or hat… which were reduced to tatters.

Mature stood over Vice's body and just glared at Yagami in a way that said, 'Get her out of this.' Considering Mature wouldn't wait, Iori complied.

Athena and Sie were both awestruck as Mature then sprang back, looking at Chin. "You think you're so great, don't you… you goddamn drunk."

Chin looked at her with surprise as he didn't really understand the woman. "This _is_ a tournament, you know…"

"Get bent!" Mature charged, nimbly evading the spiraling sake gourd before she struck hard and fast. Her fingers rent through more flesh than air, and if she had lost any more self-control, there wouldn't have been anything left of Chin to save. True, McDonalds' would have been ecstatic about the surplus McNugget meat, but Mature knew she wasn't a killer, so she managed to _only_ strike for lacerations that would eventually heal.

After only three seconds of fighting his second match, Chin Gentsai collapsed, leaving the audience in silence.

And then Sie stepped forward, helping Chin up and letting Athena handle initial healing procedures. He just looked back at Mature, and then the two charged.

…And then Sie went flying, his jacket in ribbons. He landed on his feet, springing forward and elbowing Mature in the gut and knocking her away. The silent assault continued, Sie throwing up an invisible barrier to reflect back Mature's arc-shaped projectile. Yet Mature bent to the side and then jumped in the air, flipping down and slashing again, gashing the boy's gut before she then grabbed him and slammed him into the ground, a skull-emblazoned pillar shooting up into the air.

Mature jumped away, smiling as she looked at Sie's upraised but twitching hand.

"You're done, kid. Athena, haul your ass out here so I can best you too…"

Athena took a step forward, but a voice croaked out instantly afterwards.

"…wait…"

Sie slowly unpeeled himself from the pavement, getting back to his feet and preparing to attack again… but then Mature's fist smashed into his chest and he almost crumpled from the single attack, Mature still looking at him with that hatred that had only surfaced at the point of Vice's defeat.

_I… gotta… beat her…_ Sie thought as he weakly tried to punch her again and again, the fourth punch actually seeming strong… stronger than Sie had ever hit before.

Kaoru and Bao were both looking at Sie, almost as if they knew what was happening as Sie suddenly flipped backwards almost instantly, kicking Mature away. Even before his feet seemed to touch the ground, Sie kicked again and sent one fist flying forward.

"Millennium Breaker!"

One punch to the face, that's all Sie connected with… but as he landed, the sounds of punch after punch connecting were heard as Mature convulsed again and again… finally ending up on the ground and completely unconscious.

Yagami stepped forward as he stared down at the boy, wondering whether to take his success as an insult or as a taste of the fight that would come. Instead of commenting on it, Iori grabbed up Mature and dropped her on the sidelines and turned back to face Sie, still in silence.

"One thousand and one," Iori eventually said. "That's how many times that last move hits, if you count your initial punch."

He said nothing more, he just grabbed Sie and set him on fire before kicking him away. Iori then timed a Yami Barai perfectly, hitting Sie with another stream of purple flames. The Yagami then lunged like a berserker, managing to strike in a perfect way so Sie was mauled _and_ thrown up in the air at the same time, enabling Iori to grab him on the way down and string together eight more strikes, the move known as the Ya Otome or "Eight Maidens". Afterwards he grabbed Sie and smiled.

"Jackasses get the painful version."

Iori tightened his grip as much as he could before lighting Sie on fire, keeping Kensou in his grasp and squeezing every last bit of pain he could out of the move.

Sie's vision grew to be just a faint and dimming purple. _Dammit…_ he thought, _What the hell was that power from before?_

As if on command, a voice came to speak. _Do you want it? It's nothing that wasn't in you from the beginning, after all…_

Sie was confused, but he'd take a weird voice's suggestion over losing any day. _What? I… fine…_

* * *

"Hard to imagine some people think it's called the 'Dragon Power'," Elisabeth Blanctorche mused as she watched from another apartment building, silently thanking the fact that they were available anywhere on the globe, more or less.

"Whatever…" Ash answered back, holding his hands in his armpits as faint green wisps drifted out.

Elisabeth turned to him and chuckled. "Having a little trouble with your flames, Ash?"

"It's nothing."

"You really need to get some practice on controlling your flames Ash. One of those days it's going to be the death of you."

"I'm sure."

* * *

There was still a certain level of… distance between the pair after the incident in Mexico, the stinging injury still fresh on Ash's mind and face. But they had a job to do, and if they were really needed, they'd move in to deal with discovered Serpent God number four… Shesha.

Iori had expected the fight to be over… after all, Andy and Eiji hadn't gotten up quickly after the beating he had given them, right?

But there was Sie, getting off the ground yet again, clenching his fists in defiance and then raising one of them before charging. Iori reacted casually, launching up a gigantic well of purple fire from the ground, the Ya Sakazuki or "Eight Sake Cups". It would be simple; Sie would get caught in them and then he'd just beat the crap out of him one more time and then do the same to Athena.

Iori didn't believe his eyes when a Psycho Ball blew threw the wall and knocked the wind out of him, Sie coming through right behind it… and just as he struck, Iori could've _sworn_ he saw a yellow, thousand-headed serpent behind him, each mouth open wide for a killer bite.

_Much_ more intimidating than the Orochi was.

But thankfully, or so Iori thought, if he could clearly see Sie's coming punch and block it, then things wouldn't be too bad, right?

Wrong. Iori blocked the Sie's punch without effort, expecting nothing serious to come… except then the Millennium Breaker's other thousand punches flared up all over his body, and when Sie had shot past Iori, he bounded back and punched again, nailing Iori cleanly in the back. Then he rebounded and did the whole thing again.

Iori lost track of how many times he was hit somewhere after seven thousand… rather odd since he blacked out much earlier than that.

* * *

Elsewhere, in Brazil as the Girlfriend Team's flight touched down at the Ikari base, Leona felt a chill.

Whoever won would face the Psycho Soldiers, and she _knew_ the Ikaris had to win this one.

A/N: Things are getting serious as Sie tries to struggle with, as Geese will discover simultaneously, the traitorous and maddening "Momentum of Wills". Being the only person on the Ikari team that has a hope of saving him, Leona has her work cut out for her, but first she has to try and figure out a way to break through Kasumi's version of the Atami Nage, Mai's burning techniques, and King's experience. Yet she has to do her job, because that's what being a Guiding Light is all about.


	39. Guiding Light

A/N: Well… four Serpent Gods accounted for, three to go!

Disclaimer: You know I don't own this. But all concepts of Lilly Kane being a Hakkyokusieken master are, and forever will be, my own imaginings. Amazing how much I've practically handed to her and yet my Mary-Sue alarms aren't even twitching in the slightest. God bless redesigning characters BEFORE FALCOON DECIDED TO MAKE HER JUST ANOTHER BILLY CLONE, DAMMIT!

(Rant finished… _here_. You may now read "Guiding Light" at ease)

"I see…" Andy slowly answered as his brother finished up his story over the phone. "Then that man…"

"Yes. We know who killed Hanzo Shiranui." Terry answered almost autonomously, his eyes instead sweeping over the elaborate and magnificent calligraphy of the single Jin scroll he had recovered. _Momentum of Wills? What's something like this doing here?_ "Andy… I'm sorry, but I'll call you back. I found something that's caught my eye."

"What do you mean?"

"Who would've thought the Orochi would have been connected to the Jin Twins?"

* * *

Geese was thinking the same thing as he, Lilly, and Hon Fu stood over a desk in the Southtown Public Library, battered and bruised and dirty, but still welcome considering Geese offered to double his yearly donation to the institute.

Considering that kind of money could easily enable "Sean George Roger Timothy Pierce Daniel Library", named after the actors of a particular British spy, would be able to fund massive renovations, the offer was accepted.

Of the two scrolls they had, Geese discovered, in fact, each scroll had the exact same thing on them, meaning it probably was the same for the one that Terry had too. But it didn't matter, because since both Terry and Geese would know the exact same thing, so they'd still be on even ground.

The scrolls talked of how the Serpent Gods were protectors of Nature, no surprise there. Each represented a key aspect of the planet, and each Serpent God was exactly equal in strength to the others.

But mankind was not meant to learn of the Gods' existence, and when they did, tragedy happened. Men began worshipping the Serpent Gods, desiring for them to aid in personal agendas. And with this worshipping came a terrible, corrupting power that drove each one of them to madness… this force was known as the Momentum of Wills.

The "Momentum" of this came from the cycle of corruption and power. The Orochi, for example, once initially tainted, inadvertently tainted those it gave power to, the eight families. These eight families then began worshipping the Orochi and felt that mankind would destroy the world and needed to be stopped, hence, more corrupt energy and influence flowing into the Orochi which would result in feedback to the eight families. Therefor, the cycle was seemingly nearly unbreakable, or so it seemed.

The truth was that breaking the Momentum of Wills was in fact, easy. All it took was the mind of one of the reincarnated Gods to clearly say that they rejected it… which Goenitz and Leona had both done on separate occasions.

Yet this came at a cost… permanently expelling the entirety of the power that had been given through the Momentum of Wills, still leaving the Serpent God with considerable power, but far from omnipotent strength. This also fit into what had happened with Goenitz and Leona as well.

"Well, that explains a lot…" Geese said as his phone rang. It was Goenitz. "Keep looking for anything that ties them to the Jin Twins," he told Lilly and Hon Fu as he headed outside to take the call.

* * *

As Ryo was sent flying through another one of the walls of Mexico's Kyokugenryu dojo, he was really wondering if the Mexicans would be willing to pay the whole cost of repairing it… if not, there was always Robert.

But the fight had been stuck in a stalemate as Team Kyokugenryu and Team Fatal Fury engaged in a hectic, 3-on-3 simultaneous fight. Much of it had really boiled down to Joe against Robert, Yuri against Mary, and Ryo and Billy going head to head, and although there was still an unstated and almost subconscious level of distance between the two groups due to Geese Howard's relations with both, this was strictly a fight between friendly rivals.

Ryo rolled back up to his feet, bending out of the way of Billy's extending staff from fifty feet away and then charged. As Billy's staff returned to its normal length, the Englishman took a Koah-ken to the face, but sprang back into focus by swinging his stick up to whack Ryo on his chin's underside.

"So… any news about what's going on in Southtown?" Billy asked rather casually as he tested the blindingly fast multi-cane strike of the Shuuten Ren Ha Kon verses Ryo's Zanretsuken, fist plowing into staff but not breaking it as Billy then used the opportunity to fire off a Socket Flame from the bent staff.

"Nothing yet," Ryo answered as he got back to his feet. Billy certainly had gotten better since his original two, and rather humiliating, defeats against Kaphwan. Hey, Kane actually fared pretty good against Kyo last year too! But Ryo knew he could beat him… he just needed some help.

Meanwhile, Joe and Robert were exchanging flurries of punches and kicks as well, before Robert managed to slam his left leg into Joe's right knee. The Muay Thai fighter, off-balance, fell victim to a Haoh-Sho-Koh-Ken which sent him twenty feet away and to his knees.

Robert smiled as he took out his favorite little coin and gave it a flip before he suddenly felt a gust of wind around him as Joe raised one of his hands into the air.

"Delayed Screw Upper!"

The same technique that had doomed Mai Shiranui the year before then ravaged Robert, and both fighters went down.

Yuri and Mary both spared a moment's glance before looking back to their opponent, the elder of the two, despite her childish look, getting ready as she focused.

Yuri knew there was no true reason to dislike Mary. After all, she was a very good detective. But there was just that factor that her grandfather just _had_ to show Geese the secrets of the Atami Nage… just _had_ to trust him. Yuri knew Geese had redeemed himself very much after his battles against Terry Bogard, but there was just something else… like working out all her frustrations by fighting him.

Maybe that was why Lilly Kane was waiting to enter the KoF…

WHAM! Yuri's moment of distraction had cost her as Mary kicked her legs out. Mary then snapped her leg up and kicked Yuri in the face and then grabbed her into an arm lock and pounded Yuri to the ground.

_Dammit…_ Yuri thought as she regained her composure and threw Mary off. _There has _got_ to be some way of turning this around!_ She charged, swinging a fist that unfortunately was blocked by Mary's rendition of the Atami Nage and immediately countered, knocking Yuri away again as well as blasting the air out of her.

Trying to regain her composure, Yuri let out a deep breath, bringing her hands close to her. She knew that Ryo had tapped into a phenomenal force three times now… used in his battles against Kyo, Heidern, and Leona. She also knew that Robert had tapped into that same force when he fought Wyler not too long ago. Yuri knew she could call upon that strength, that sheer Kyokugenryu might for one perfect-

"You lose!" Mary shouted as she again exploited Yuri's distracted mind, grabbing her from behind and jumping in the air. "Rose Rolling Crush!" The two of them fell back to the floor, Yuri struggling to free herself as she felt it. That power… she had once chance at it!

Elbowing Mary in the gut to knock her away as both continued their nigh-suicidal fall, Yuri spun and shoved her hands out in the proper way. "HAOH-SHO-KOH-KEN!" The attack hit dead-on, blasting into Mary into unconsciousness before Yuri hit the ground and darkness claimed her as well.

Ryo and Billy both looked at their fallen teammates as they realized it had come down to both of them. "Ready to take out all the stops?" Ryo asked as he prepared to use his best move again, drawing his arms into his chest and gathering energy. "After all… whoever loses, Southtown wins."

Billy nodded as he readied his fingers for the complex spinning motions that would become necessary in the next few seconds. "Let's do this!"

The two charged, waiting until they were nose to nose to unleash their very best attacks.

"Super Flaming Whirlwind Cane!"

"Haoh-Shi-Koh-Ken!"

The two fighters stumbled away from their opponents, both of them wondering which technique had overpowered the other. Ryo and Billy's breaths both grew ragged and legs grew weak. And then…

"Dammit… you win…" Billy muttered as he collapsed on the floor.

Ryo had done it. They were on to the next round. Not only that… his Shi-Koh-Ken was now only _half_ the strength of his dad's… not half-bad for only a year of practice.

* * *

"So… How _do_ you know Eiji?" Leona asked as she started at the Aikido practitioner. The first round of the Ikari vs. Girlfriend fight would be between the two newcomers, both of whom had a certain level of familiarity with each other.

Kasumi smiled as she practiced a few punches before answering. "Oh, old family friend. I mean… _really_ old family friend. Our two families first met a couple generations ago… Eiji's ancestor Zantetsu helped bring the two groups together."

"Nice guy?"

"Who, Eiji or Zantetsu?"

"The Strider Hiryu look-alike," Leona answered as Mai, Ralf, Clark, and King were all but screaming that they should start the fight already.

"Oh, he's fine," Kasumi said as she dropped into fighting stance. "But it's about time we get this show on the road!"

"Agreed!" Leona lunged at Kasumi, slashing up with one hand. Unfortunately, she was blocked and then blown back by an energy wave, Kasumi grinning from the results.

"Tough luck. Your all-offense fighting style really won't win you any brownie points against me," Kasumi said as Leona kept her distance, thinking. There had to be some trick she could pull to win this… some way to get by that damned Atami Nage.

_Okay…_ Leona thought, _I know that Geese's and maybe Lilly's are the only ones that work on all types of physical attacks… Kasumi never learned Kobojutsu… so there's a hole in the defense somewhere…_ Leona charged again, hoping to spot some weak point… and was glad she did.

Kasumi raised her arms up for another energy wave, but Leona let loose one of her seemingly endless attacks. First, she slashed twice, once up and then down. Kasumi, still-reeling, was blasted again and again as Leona slowly hopped into the air, a blue sphere of energy coming from her and battering Kasumi even more.

Leona landed behind Kasumi, who staggered forward in shock. "That's… that's some serious power," Kasumi groaned in pain. She kept on her feet and turned and charged, wondering why Leona hadn't bothered moving whatsoever.

And then a little part of her exploded.

Kasumi's eyes were wide open as she fell forward, being stopped from hitting the ground when Leona reached out and caught her. King and Mai were utterly horrified, but Leona just checked her pulse and put her on the sidelines. "She'll be okay. The thing's barely worse than a flashbang. Now who's up next?"

Mai and King exchanged glances, but the Shiranui stepped forward before King could object. When again… it really didn't matter that much either.

The red-clad ninja stood opposite of the Ikari, readying two iron fans and preparing herself for Leona's inevitable attack… which she kept expecting and expecting. And finally Leona came straight at her, and Mai returned the favor by slashing with her fans…

… Only to be utterly and completely horrified at the sight of Leona chopping through them with her bare hands. But while Iori's slashes were more along the lines of feral clawings, Leona's were more like chops that had the power to cut through metal.

Thanking God she had bent out of the way in time, Mai lurched back forward, blasting Leona with a powerful elbow strike, and realizing she did have the advantage when it came to evasive skills. Rolling away, Leona tried to charge back, but suddenly fiery doppelgangers of Mai erupted around her, hitting the young Ikari a number of times.

_This is crazy!_ Leona thought as she held her distance after regaining her footing, staring at Mai through the flames. _I should just be able to tap into my Serpent God powers… but I don't get why I can't…_ Oh well… between losing to some floozy or killing the Ikaris who she was beginning to view as a third family, -Goenitz, Maki, and the rest of that group being the second- Leona would gladly take the former.

And she _still_ had an ace up her sleeve. Leona charged again, her mind like a steel trap as she waited for Mai to slip up. As soon as Mai moved to attack, Leona flipped up in the air and then shot down.

From what everyone could see, it simply looked like Leona had landed beside Mai and then jumped away… except suddenly the sound of an intense slash was heard, and Mai winced as she fell to her knees… a victim of Leona's V-Slasher.

"Got you," Leona said happily before she suddenly felt a pain in her side. "Dammit…"

"Can't replace experience and subtlety…" Mai said before she passed out…

And then King all but kicked Leona's face in. Leona stumbled and swore profusely before she blacked out as well… the Frenchwoman and team captain turning to Ralf and Clark.

"Okay… which one of you is next?"

Ralf and Clark exchanged glances, Clark stepping up first.

* * *

"Are you serious?" Goenitz said as he and Maki sat in a Kagura Corp. office, listening to Geese on speakerphone. "You mean you've figured it out?"

"Thank Hong Kong's best cop," Geese answered.

"Who, Chun Li?"

"Who's that?"

"Nothing…" Maki said. "But if you're sure about this… we'll have to contact Leona and the Ikaris. We've got a call from Vice and Mature not too long ago. They're pretty banged up… especially Mature after fighting Kensou… and we think Leona might have to deal with another Serpent God next round."

* * *

"You're definitely as good as Robert said," King told Clark as the two stood apart from each other, the fight so far being nothing more than a stalemate. King was too agile for Clark to grab easily… but Clark also forced her to keep her distance.

"Thanks," Clark said as he turned back to see Ralf doing some warm-up stretches just in case, with Leona talking to someone on a cell phone but looking very serious about it. "But it's about time we win this…"

"The hell you will!" King yelled as she dove down from air, battering Clark with a Surprise Rose that left the Ikari barely on his feet, but he had already charged at where King was to be landing, and moved for a grab. King immediately kicked up with a Trap Shot, but leaned out of the way and then grabbed King as she stumbled forward. Clark bent over, pounding King head first into the ground.

The blow certainly hurt her… and Clark then threw her up in the air and grabbed her again, slamming her again into the ground.

When Clark finally let King go, she slumped the ground, the Ikaris victorious and on to the second round… which would be starting sooner than they thought.

"Wow… you're not too much older than us!" Athena said as Ralf, Clark, and Leona turned to see Sie and Athena walking up, Leona sensing something in Sie that she now knew exactly what it was…

The Momentum of Wills. Thank God he hadn't called upon its full power yet.

"Clark, leave this to me," Leona said as she stood back up, feeling better after that rest. She readied to fight, but Ralf stepped in front of her.

"Don't you think it's my turn to fight?" He asked. He pumped a muscle for her and smiled. "Don't worry, I've got this in the bag!"

Leona started to say something, but stopped. She'd wait… and pray that she could tap into her full powers not when she wanted to… but when she _needed_ too…

And that moment would be all too soon.

_I'll save you Sie…_ Leona thought, _I won't let you lose what I did all those years ago… the chance at a normal life!_

A/N: The fight is on! Ralf will have an intense fight on his hands testing the power of the Galactica Phantom against the Millennium Breaker… but the results will actually shock everyone observing the fight! In the meantime, Team Japan and the Rival Team (finally) square off, and Benimaru finds himself in a tough fight against Terry Bogard's only-slightly-weaker younger brother. Sometimes life sucks, and other times, Life Looks Out for You.


	40. Life Looks Out For You

A/N: Well, I'll probably only manage to post this a couple of days past Christmas, so think of it as a belated present to all of my loyal readers. It's almost been a whole year since I started "A Single Decision", and it just goes to show you something…

PEOPLE LIKE GEESE HOWARD AND LEOPOLD GOENITZ AS _GOOD GUYS!_ And I'm staring at you, SNK.

Anyways, next chapter!

"So… any chance Shizuka's not gonna kill me?" Eiji asked nervously as he faced off with Kyo, more for humor's sake than anything else.

Kyo shook his head and grinned. "Nah… we'll just make you have to pay for ramen next game night. And Dad'll be sure to call the _expensive_ shop."

The two skipped any more playful banter and immediately charged, Eiji flying up into the air and shooting down while kicking repeatedly at Kyo. The Kusanagi fighter threw up his defenses, blocking each strike, before punching back. Eiji flipped away, landing on his feet and drawing his daggers.

"Fighting dirty?" Kyo asked before he channeled up his flames. "Well, not _really_ since it's still no serious advantage…"

Eiji quickly slashed out, an energy wave shooting at Kyo. Yet Kyo countered with an Orochinagi, the two attacks canceling each other out. Yet Eiji was right behind the attack, slashing out at Kyo. He dodged to the left, grabbing Eiji's neck and blasting him with a round of fire. Eiji returned the favor, however, when he slammed his legs into Kyo's gut and flipped away, slashing down at him. Kyo threw up his arms to protect himself, wincing as Eiji's knives struck flesh. But with his knives and hands accounted for, Kyo turned the situation to his advantage, kicking Eiji's shins, then his kneecaps, and finally his groin.

"Dammit…" Eiji growled in a falsetto voice as Kyo let loose another Orochinagi, all but wiping Eiji out. The ninja, however, kept on his feet, wishing to show just how much he'd gotten better. He gave Kyo the time to pull the knives out and discard them, all the more time to catch his breath and recover, after all.

Kyo sent streams of fire shooting across the ground, Eiji managing to jump, slide, and roll away from them while getting all the more closer, before finally decking Kyo straight in the face. Kyo bent with the attack in hopes of minimizing the damage, but Eiji sweeped out Kyo's legs, and the Kusanagi fell flat on his rump. Eiji moved in for the winning blow, but Kyo managed to shoot up at the last possible second, spinning from the burning Oni Yaki, sending Eiji flying. Kyo then immediately tagged him with another Orochinagi, and Eiji went down.

"Winner… Kusanagi! Points awarded, one!"

"**_ONE_**?" Kyo and Benimaru screamed in perfect synchronization. "WHAT THE HELL!"

The referee turned to them and then to Eiji. "Defeated on the one point ring… only one point for Team Japan."

"This game is still in the air then," Kim Kaphwan said as he stepped out to fight Goro Daimon.

* * *

"So… Athena…" Sie asked as he stared at Team Ikari's two members for the semi-final match, "Mind if I go first again?"

Athena didn't seem bothered at all, telling him to give it his all and to do his best, to which Sie snorted.

_My best? My best is greater than anyone could possibly match!_ Upon seeing Ralf step up to fight him, Sie grinned at the concept of besting the infamous Galactica Phantom effortlessly. After all, he had the Millennium Breaker.

Leona, however, was talking to someone on a cell phone, looking at him every so often and speaking at a very low frequency. The voices told him to watch out for her.

Sie grinned as he and Ralf stared opposite each other, readying for battle. Ralf struck first, jumping into the air and launching himself down like a rocket… except Sie kicked up at him, blowing him away seemingly instantly. Sie pursued, shooting down and testing the strength of his Ryu Sou Geki. Sie flew down like an arrow, going up against Ralf's Vulcan Barrage, but it was all too easy.

Again, Ralf was sent flying, and Sie almost grinned as he saw the cock-sure idiot pulling back for a Galactica Phantom. He'd enjoy beating the move even the legendary Takuma Sakazaki failed against.

"Here it comes…"

"Millen…"

"It's a real man's punch…"

"Ium…"

"GALACTICA PHANTOM!"

"BREAKER!"

Fists plowed into each other, Athena, Clark, and Leona speechless as the two fists were mashed together, the two fighters entrenched in a stalemate that resulted in Sie being completely shocked. And then suddenly bruises and indentations from punches appeared all over Sie's arm, and he screamed in pain as Ralf's Galactica Phantom plowed through the rest of his defenses to deliver a completely justified punch with explosive results.

_I'll be damned…_ Leona thought as Sie sunk to his knees. _I think I know how that thing works now…_

Sie, on the other hand, was clutching his arm as his thoughts rapidly grew out of control. _But… how? I power I got wasn't enough… Isn't there more? There has to be!_

Ralf just watched the boy have a slight nervous breakdown before he suddenly tensed up, his entire body becoming one taut muscle of death.

And then he looked up at Ralf and he, Leona, and Clark ended up hearing something they hadn't expected… but knew all too well…

"She has to die…"

"Yuki Kushinida, I presume," Ralf callously answered back. "Yeah, we've been through this before."

"WHAT?" Athena shouted as she heard Sie's words. "SIE, WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?"

Sie turned to her and shrugged. "If she doesn't, something bad will happen. That's all I'm allowed can say on the matter. And as for _you_, Aido-Hwedo," he turned to Leona, "You and Quetzocoatl have a lot to answer for."

"Uh… Leona?" Ralf asked as he turned to her, "What exactly is going on?"

"I'll explain later," she said, "Just watch yourself out there."

Ralf turned to Sie and shrugged. "No problem… the Galactica Phantom still worked on Leona when she went psycho, right?"

Sie just looked at him and raised his gaze a few inches. "Try it."

Clark grinned as he pulled back his fist, the others wondering what would happen, and then he sent himself flying forward… and as if in slow motion…

Sie caught the punch in one hand. True, he did slide back two dozen feet and seemed perturbed by the fact, but he showed no sign of weakening as his grip tightened and Ralf screamed in agony. "Amazing… simply amazing how humans, whose life is nothing more than a brief flicker through time, can possess such strength. Millennium Breaker."

Ralf was nearly blown away instantly, Athena screaming as Clark was about to tackle the bastard, but Leona stopped him, her hair slowly changing from blue to red. "I'll handle this." Clark suddenly became considerably more nervous, but Leona shook her head. "It's still me… nobody is going to die today… I'm just knocking him back to his senses."

"But… your hair…"

Leona grab a strand and looked at it. "Hmm? Oh… guess it returns when I need it for something serious…"

"I'm waiting," Sie said as Leona approached him. In spite of her at-ease appearance, Leona herself was sweating bullets on the inside. There weren't too many saving graces for her, but maybe she could make do with what she _did_ have.

She turned to Leona and nodded. "He'll be fine. Just needs a few voices in his head the boot. And I'll figure that out too. Now shall we?"

"Sure," Sie answered, springing at her and striking down, knowing full well that the power of the Momentum of Wills and the power it supplied was now permanently stricken from Leona. Yet a casual side step and a raising knee managed to knock Sie away. Leona pressed the attack, even knowing she was weaker and slower, shooting a hand out like a knife twice in quick succession. Sie parried both, but still got a little bloody in the process.

Of course, then a Psycho Ball nearly disintegrated Leona's entire body, only being stopped by again calling upon her close-range energy sphere technique to be thrown in front of her.

Leona, now having spent a couple of years as an Ikari, knew she needed a plan that involved Sie himself willing the Momentum out of him. Physical abuse _would_ be tempting… it had helped distance her from her own psychotic demons, but that would require more power than she had… and she was still going to do this on her own. So it came down to psychology.

Thank God she wasn't a Scientologist.

"Dance, bitch," Sie growled as countless Psycho Balls shot down at Leona, the currently red-haired girl throwing up defenses. Unfortunately, Sie quickly overpowered her when he shot at the Ikari, kicking her in the head and began physically beating her senseless. Yet through it all, Leona kept a cocky-ass grin on her face… finally realizing something.

"You really should rethink killing Yuki…" Leona spat at Sie.

_She's lying_… the voices said to him, _What wrong could possibly come from killing _her

"What?" Sie asked before he pulled back for a punch which Leona surprisingly caught.

"Because…" Leona growled as she tried to push away the punch, "If she dies… then isn't Kyo Kusanagi available?"

It was a mundane question about teenagers and the oh-so-absurdly complicated "Boyfriend, Girlfriend, and Friend" situation… but thankfully Sie was a teenager, so it worked.

Something flickered in Sie's eyes as he withdrew backwards, shaking his head.

_But… that means… Athena would be with him for _real _and…_

_It's irrelevant!_

_THE HELL IT IS!_ Sie mentally snapped. _It's a the top of the list!_

_The list of what?_ The voices asked attempting to take physical control and end the single voice of that damned Water Serpent God. It had to be stopped!

Sie found his body acting on its own, pulling back for another Millennium Breaker, but he tried to fight it as much as possible, Leona happy she was getting a breakthrough. The fist flew at her, and yet she still seemed undisturbed. "You have to say you want to get rid of it, Sie! Just tell it to leave!"

The fist was only inches away as Sie finally realized what she meant. _Yeah… yeah!_

Two inches…

_Just get out!_

One inch…

_GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!!_

Leona smiled as she suddenly felt the drop in Sie's power and also her hair and Serpent God powers subsiding. All that was left was to counter the Millennium Breaker and then beat Athena. And beating it was so easy now.

All she had to do was deflect it. Sie's look of joy at his recovery instantly turned into one of defeat as Leona swatted his arm away, never touching his fist that had all the power of the attack, and then she planted one final punch into his face, the coup de grace to finish Sie off after Ralf's attempt at beating him.

Sie fell down, more thankful that he'd been stopped from doing anything horrible than feeling sorry he'd lost. Leona then turned to Athena and grinned. "Next?"

* * *

Goro circled Kaphwan as the two considered and weighed the abilities of their enemies. Kim knew Goro was a more sluggish, but methodical fighter that would punish an opening to grab a limb. Goro knew that the South Korean was a master of lightning-fast kicks that would punish any lowering of defenses.

So naturally, that's what Goro did. Kim's over-anxiousness proved his downfall as he sprang up into the air, majestically flipping and spinning into a little ball of pure Tai Kwan Do actions… that Goro grabbed, crumpled up and slammed into the ground.

"Dammit…" Kim muttered as Goro walked away, not expecting Kim to rise to his feet. Kim had his opening for real now, and he battered Goro with all his hatred and frustration of his past failures.

In the King of Fighters '93, he had easily bested Billy Kane, only to fail against the true evil of the tournament… Geese Howard.

In the King of Fighters '94, Billy Kane had again fallen against him in battle, although the injuries inflicted in the battle gnawed at him like poison, punishing him dearly against Athena Asamiya.

In the King of Fighters '95, Kim Kaphwan had again found himself face to face against that damned Englishman… who fought Kim on Korean soil in front of an audience and humiliated him. His students found no fault in losing to a man that had to rely on a cowardly weapon, but the principle of the incident remained in full.

This time he would not fail… and he battered the larger man… enjoying the moment Goro was too weak to even block Kim's strikes…

Except then Daimon's hands lashed out like snakes that belied the giant's strength, almost trapping Kim and crushing him in his grip, after which Goro then began a whole sequence of throws, each one more painful than the last before ending with it by tossing Kim twenty feet into the air.

Kim fell fast, but as he hit the ground, he tried something unlikely. He shot his hands out and threw himself in the direction of the outermost ring, praying that Team Japan would only score one more point. He was partly successful.

"Winner… Daimon! Points award, six!"

Andy Bogard, however, didn't seem bothered as he stepped into the ring opposite of Benimaru and grinned. "I'll enjoy breaking you."

Benimaru just shook his head and electrified himself, spiking his hair up. "Keep daydreaming, loser."

* * *

After having to go up against a supercharged, intent-on-killing-Yuki-Kushinida reincarnation of Shesha, Leona was about to just kick back and enjoy beating up Athena. That was before nearly being blasted by a Shining Crystal Bit when she got too close.

Leona was tempted to think that Athena was a Serpent God too… but if she was, she certainly wasn't acting like one… yet.

Leona grew more and more frustrated as Athena managed to deftly maneuver and regulate invisible psychic barriers and physical blocking in spite of the best attacks Leona sent her way.

"Thanks, by the way," Athena said as she shot into the air, a Psycho Sword aerial attack that barely missed Leona. "With Sie… he's going to be alright?"

"Yeah… went through the same thing too. There should be an Ouroboros symbol on his left palm, but it's a good sign…" Leona answered as she blocked a series of strikes by Athena, trying in vain to land a hit. _She's good… definitely improved a lot after her two losses to Kyo…_

Athena nodded in agreement, as if reading Leona's mind. "Yeah, I _did_ train a lot this year. Have you any idea how much exercise you get from running away from fans?"

"I think Kisaragi could share notes on that…" Leona answered as she thought of something. She sprang back and then charged at Athena, hands at her sides, in fact her fingers were slipping into her pockets, taking out another explosive…

She threw a punch, Athena raised up a barrier, Leona opened her hand, the flashbang went off.

Another one was nearly rammed into Athena before going off, knocking her out.

"Three wins and one tie…" Leona said as she turned to Ralf and Clark and gave a thumbs-up. "Best track record out of _any_ of the Ikaris…"

"We could call Heidern in, you know," Ralf and Clark said in an irritated tone.

"Shutting up now."

A/N: With one half of the brackets already determined for the final match, Benimaru will have to pull off a miracle against Andy Bogard when the American begins dominating the match. Meanwhile, Kain R. Heinlein and Grant will decide to pay Cheng Sinzan a visit concerning information about the Jin Scrolls, and Dark Yamazaki will set up his newest plan to kill Yuki Kushinida in Neo Electrigger.

Omake time!

Howard vs. Howard -or- Goose vs. Duck…

Things in Southtown were really starting to shape up now that Billy and the rest of Team Fatal Fury had returned, and Geese could enjoy casual strolls in the park with Rock and Marie while Goenitz and Maki furthered out their plan of luring out Yamazaki and _hopefully_ end the Kusanagi/Yagami feud.

But for him, it was a day that he could relax and not worry about anything bizarre or involving needing to grunt out a Raging Storm.

Not to mention the East Side Park still quivered in fear whenever he set foot in it.

Unfortunately, a malevolent force would not let him have his day off, and quickly a voice called to him.

"Goose, your time has come!"

_Goose?_ Geese thought as he clenched his fists and turned around, looking for the perpetrator. Where could he be?

"Look at that cute little duck!" Rock said cheerfully as Geese looked down to see… an anthropomorphic duck wearing a business suit.

"Wait a second…" Marie started to say as things started to be pieced together. "Aren't you…"

"Howard the Duck!" The titular Marvel Comics character shouted as he pointed accusingly at Geese. "That's right… I was sent here by the powers that be to defeat you!"

"Couldn't Marvel _at least_ have sent somebody a little… cooler?" Geese asked. "I mean, I'd really like to talk with Doctor Doom one of these times, get some bids on some projects here or there. I mean, even Magneto would do."

"EA has all of them in a volleyball game," Howard the Duck answered. "I was the only one of Marvel's vast army that they could spare."

"Sounds like they're trying to copy Dead or Alive now…" Marie pointed out, shaking her head at the thought of all those disgustingly over-buxom women glossed the front-pages of gaming magazines. She was halfways tempted to put a bullet in Tina Armstrong's head as it was… "Geese, remind Lilly that she should enter the next volleyball tournament and blast their brains out with Ressatsu bolts."

"Certainly… she already made DOA's Kasumi a satellite," Geese answered. "But seriously, Howard. What's this all about?"

"Capcom called in a favor," Howard answered. "The way things are going, the only way we'd survive a crossover is to kill you and the other heavy hitters! Now if you excuse me, I'm going to do a quarter turn forward on my joystick and then a strong punch!"

"What, another Shotoclone?" Geese asked as the expected, duck-shaped fireball shot out at him. "I don't have time for this. DUCK KING, GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE!"

Running out of King's bar while entrusting it to the first person he saw, the _other_ fowl-named fighter arrived shortly, looking at Howard the Duck with a surprised look on his face.

"HOWIE!" Duck King shouted as he jumped for joy. "I THOUGHT YOU WERE STUCK IN THAT INTERDIMENSIONAL VOID FOREVER!"

"You have GOT to be kidding me," Howard muttered as he shook his feathery head before somebody reassured him.

"He is. Deadly Rave." Geese casually battered the loser around before turning to Marie and Rock's happy faces. He held up the dead carcass and gave a thumbs-up. "Dinner's served."


	41. Neo Electrigger

A/N: Here it is… chapter 41! And I'm happy to say that "A Single Decision" has had over 10,000 hits and over 150 reviews, and I can't believe how much I've enjoyed working on this fanfiction. Again, I thank all my loyal readers and reviewers, you're the people that keep me going. But enough sentimentality! It's about time I finish the damn Team Japan vs. Rival Team fight I've been spewing about for the past five chapters already!

Benimaru and Andy both stepped into the ring, Andy knowing he'd have to pull a little finesses to win this match, Beni knowing he'd have to give it his all. Terry Bogard's younger brother was a serious competitor, and he hadn't even fought at all in the last King of Fighters, instead throwing the match to his girlfriend on her last ropes.

Worst case, Beni would just stick to the most outer-rings… even if he lost, Andy would win too few points and Team Japan would advance.

The two stared at each other, Shiranui ninja and "Shooting" practitioner both readying for battle. And then they struck, electricity and energy blasts flying.

* * *

Terry poured over the contents of the sole Jin Scroll he had recovered, absorbing everything it told him. It certainly explained a few things to him, although he hadn't a clue who any of the Serpent Gods were. It made passing references to the Orochi, but nothing about the feud between the Kusanagi and Yagami households. Of course, that meant it obviously was older, but that really didn't help him at all.

Terry folded up the scroll, pausing at the last second when his eyes caught something… a series of characters, barely a millimeter wide. If he hadn't caught it now, he wondered if it would have slipped by him.

Whatever… he'd look into it later.

* * *

The giant known as Grant stood on the street, numerous eyes on him in the port city of Hong Kong, but no one approached him or did anything other than notice him.

They were too scared.

And then a limousine pulled up, and a blonde haired man stepped out. "Grant."

"Kain." Inside that simple exchange of names, the friendship that they held was proven again; they would be a team forever.

Especially in what they were about to do now.

They walked down the street together, and then another and then another, slowly approaching their target… Cheng Sinzan. Kain called up to him, the fat bastard turning to see them. "Oh, it's you, Mr. Heinlein."

Kain nodded as he motioned towards Grant. "Yes, and this is my friend, Abel Cameron. He prefers the name 'Grant' however. More importantly, it has come to our attention that there was an attempted theft on the Jin Scrolls in Southtown. Thankfully two of them have been recovered by…" Kain struggled to maintain the professional tone in his voice as he said the name of the person he hated above all others except that damned Lilly Kane, "Geese Howard. We were wondering if you would happen to have any digital files of the scrolls and what they say."

Cheng shrugged. "Sure, but I can get them to you any time." They then began walking together, the alleged familiarity of the act masking the true intent.

"Just like the scrolls themselves?"

"Apologies again," Cheng said as he shook his head, "I was so captivated in them you must not have had proper time to study them yourselves. But can't you just look at the scrolls themselves? You _did_ recover them, no?"

Kain clenched his fist before he removed his gloves. True, he did not have that demonically bloody means of killing like White did, but that wouldn't be necessary. A single purple flame sparked from his right index finger as he turned to Grant, who slammed his hands down on the little fat me. They stopped, Kain walking in front of him. "Apology accepted," Kain said, "But what we are going to do know is something you will follow to the letter, specifically you are going to take Grant and me to your home and you are going to show us everything. And if you scream, Grant will crush you. If you do anything that could be considered an attack, Grant will crush you. If we do not see what we want to see, Grant will crush you. And when we are done looking at the files, provided we see what we want, I personally will burn you to death like the fat, suckled pig you are. Clear?"

Cheng was sweating bullets as Grant's hands began to tighten their grip, Cheng wondering why nobody was stopping this. "Why don't I just try something stupid and die quick?"

"Because," Grant growled, his voice all but turning Cheng's hair white as the giant spoke for the first time in a long while, "Kain will make you wish you were dead not long before it will happen. If it were _me_, I would break each bone in your body sequentially, slowly, and painfully. I assure you, Cheng Sinzan, doing something stupid will not result in a quick death. Neither will it result in a less painful death. But by obeying us, you _will_ live for a marginally longer period of time. Don't you agree that's fair?"

Cheng said nothing… his body was all but petrified with fear.

And then, to prove they weren't lying, Grant squeezed down on Cheng's left hand, crushing it as a child would crush an ant. Cheng knew he was going to die and there was nothing he could possibly do about it. His voice failed him, but his legs didn't. He would take the coward's way out, eke out as much of a pathetic existence as he could.

* * *

The tension was maddening as Benimaru and Andy stared at each other, thinking and trying to plot out a means of getting the other to make the first move. Yet it was pointless, they just circled each other, feet smoothly moving in the sand…

And then Andy's foot flew up, sand flying into Benimaru's eyes and Kyo and Goro shouted as loud as they could… but they fell silent as Andy slammed a fist into Beni's gut before throwing him into the center of the arena. If Andy beat him there, his team would win twenty points and be a double slap in the face to Yagami.

First, it would mean Yagami's former teammates would advance to the next round while his team didn't.

Second, Andy would've single handedly beaten Kyo's team.

"You lose," Andy said as he pulled back for another punch to Beni's face, but the Shooting fighter managed to grab the punch and kick Andy away. Andy slid back and fired off a Sho Ryu Dan blast at Benimaru. The blast knocked the wind out of him, and Andy charged again. Beni took a hard blow to the face and staggered back, but kicked back with a leg that almost jack-knifed out, snapping into Andy's shin. The two punched each other, Beni getting hit in the chest as Andy took one to the jaw, and the Shiranui ninja was surprised as how hard his opponent had hit.

There certainly was no weak link in Team Japan's chain.

Andy bent with the punch, getting away just before an electric surge coursed through Beni's still-outstretched fist. He then arced into the air, his feet flying straight at the borderline-effeminate's face. Nikaido's body took the hit from Andy full force, but Benimaru did his best to bend with the move, his hands reaching up and grabbing Andy by the waist before Benimaru struck back, bending his body forward again and slamming Andy headfirst into the ground with earthshaking intensity.

Andy's world went white for a moment, and then it went purple as Benimaru channeled up all his power and unleashed the Electrigger. Andy screamed in agony as he was electrocuted and Benimaru threw him away, yet he still landed on his feet.

"I…" Andy growled even as the smoke still curled away from his body, "I'm not going to lose here." He abandoned all sense of pausing and instead attacked as fast as he could, hands all but slicing through the air as Benimaru carefully kept his distance, looking for an opening.

Yet no opening came, and when Beni misjudged his distance from Andy, a nigh-bone crushing punch pounding into Benimaru's left shoulder. He stumbled back, and Andy positioned himself close before jumping in the air and striking with flailing arms.

"Beni!" Kyo shouted as Goro did the same, although he preferred to say the full name. The blonde wasn't doing good, but he had kept on his feet through all of it, and he had that kind of fire in his eyes.

_No…_ Benimaru thought as his legs slowly gave out, _Just one last strike, that's all I ask._ Gone was the cocky, possibly-gay Japanese narcissist, replaced by a fighter hungry for his next win. He lunged at Andy's falling body, grabbing him in another arm-lock for the Electrigger and gathered up the kind of energy he knew he had. He had heard that Ryo and Robert had, on separate occasions, summoned incredible inner power. Likewise, there was that mysterious well of strength that had saved Geese Howard in his second battle against Terry Bogard. And Billy Kane had found his internal power when he managed to defeat Kim Kaphwan in their third battle.

Surely he too possessed something at least half as potent inside of him.

Beni let it all out, the electric power he had obtained through a chance misadventure with a giant radiosphinctopragmomitor, the energy flowing from him on par with that of a small-scale nuclear reactor, and the resulting electric discharge fried every digital appliance within a hundred-foot radius.

When it finally subsided, Benimaru was still on his feet, although it looked like he was somehow unconscious. Andy Bogard, however, was twitching on the ground, with his shirt, hair, and pants burnt in numerous places.

* * *

"And things are again on track for having the final round and also the exhibition match afterwards set in Southtown," Goenitz stated as he handed the paperwork to the other financial bankers of the King of Fighters '96. "I myself will be the opponent, fighting the team captain of the winning team in a match that will certainly gather attention throughout the world. Are there any problems with that?"

Maki and he looked around, seeing no objections. Things were running smoothly now that Geese had handled the Jin Twins, plus he found out about the Momentum of Wills too and another Serpent God was accounted for as well.

Both members of Kagura Corp. stood up and left, Maki already getting her cell phone and dialing a number.

"Hello, Chizuru? Would you mind calling someone for me? I'd do it myself, but we might have our hands full getting everything set up, and I'll have to go incommunicado for a bit."

Her little sister answered happily, and Maki gave her the phone number, wondering if the band was on tour again or not.

* * *

To be fair, however, Japan _was_ in a different time zone than Switzerland, so when the phone rang, the rather short seventeen-year-old stumbled out of bed first.

"Yeah?" asked the boy named Chris, the physical reincarnation of the Orochi.

"Oh, hi, Chris. It's me, Chizuru."

"Chizuru?" Chris said as he suddenly felt wide-awake. "What is it?" He had rarely seen the girl in person, usually only when CYS was performing in Japan. And even then, it wasn't like he actually talked to her after the performances either. He and Shermie usually had to drag Yashiro away before he killed Iori Yagami, since the _other_ Orochi user had seriously taken his performance up a notch or two after their initial musical confrontation in '94. But Chris, Shermie, and Yashiro had a lot to thank Maki and Goenitz for, and free tickets for Chizuru really wasn't too much of a thanks.

"Well, I have some really good news! Is Yashiro or Shermie around?"

"Chizuru," Chris said in an irritated tone, "You _can_ tell me, you know. I'm not a little kid. Besides, Shermie took Yashiro shopping again."

"If you insist," Chizuru said. "But I just want to ask something first. Chris, have you ever been in a situation and you feel that you have more power, but you can't use it?"

"Sure, doesn't everybody?"

"But Chris, you're a _Serpent God,_ you bleed and live your life like a normal person, but you aren't." Chizuru began explaining what Geese had found out about the Serpent Gods and the Momentum of Wills, and how even though Chris could use his abilities as the Orochi and also the Herald of Fire, there was still the danger of him going crazy and trying to specifically kill Yuki Kushinida.

Upon Chizuru finishing, Chris stayed silent for a moment before finally answering. "You sure about this?"

"We know it's happened to Goenitz, Leona, and now Sie Kensou. We know _how_ it happens."

Chris nodded as he let the words sink in. "Okay. I'll keep that in mind. And besides, now I know what I have to do if worse comes to worse. Thanks again." He hung up and then let a small blue flame appear in his hand. He'd take care of this power he had… humanity had no need to suffer planet-wide genocide.

And if he did succumb, then he'd do all in his power to renounce the Momentum of Wills. That was just how things worked.

* * *

"Are you crazy?" Takuma moaned over the phone when Ryo told him of the damage to the dojo that had been caused when Team Kyokugen had fought Team Fatal Fury. "That kind of wreckage from just one fight?"

"Well, Dad… I mean," Ryo said as he gave both Yuri and Robert lethal dirty stares as he tried to sooth his father. "I _did_ do a pretty good Haoh-Shi-Koh-Ken."

"How good?" Takuma asked, suddenly interested in that more than the cost of repairs.

"About half as strong as yours."

"THAT'S GREAT!" Takuma said proudly. "My boy, well on his way to mastering the most powerful move in all of Kyokugenryu!" Takuma imagined himself in an audience, his family winning countless tournaments all around the world.

"What about you, Dad?" Ryo asked, knocking Takuma out of a fantasy in which Ryo would be winning the Nobel Prize, "How's Southtown?"

"Southtown?" Takuma repeated, "Oh, the problem with the Jin Twins. All cleared up, Geese Howard handled it along with Lilly and that one cop that came over here to track down Yamazaki. Things are settling down for the final round of the King of Fighters, and the other bracket's already been determined. So give it your all and remember we've already won big, you three are getting better and better every year now."

"Thanks, dad," Ryo said as he hung up the phone. He turned to Robert and Yuri and then grinned. "Okay, you two. Dad didn't ream my ass, but a deal's a deal. _You're_ the guys that'll fight Team Japan this time."

"No problem," Robert said as he flexed a muscle. "After handling Wyler, the Invincible Dragon can't wait to sink his teeth into Kusanagi!"

"You know, we're _right_ here," Kyo piped up as Yuri and Robert turned to see Kyo, Goro, and Benimaru there, although the blonde still sported many of the bruises from his past battle. "And you seem rather cocky."

Robert shrugged, taking out a coin and flipping it in the air. "A coin flip only has three possible ends to it; heads, tails, and edge."

"Yeah, but fighting with me, and you always get the shaft," Kyo answered as he enveloped his hands in his crimson flames.

The two waited until Ryo, Yuri, Goro, and Benimaru had got out of the general vicinity before attacking, Kyo springing over a Koah-ken with a R.E.D Kick and striking the side of Robert's face. Garcia, however, shot up at the same time, hitting Kyo's chin with a Ryuga uppercut.

"You got better," Robert said as Kyo sprang away. The Italian wiped the miniscule dribble of blood from his mouth as Kyo did the same.

"Thanks," Kyo answered, _I _did_ get a wake up call when that woman attacked me, however._ "You've improved too."

"What, you think all I do all day is wax my expensive cars?" Robert attacked, charging forward and immediately taking to the air with a Hi en Senpu Ken kick that hit Kyo hard in the shoulder. But Kyo then punched up, knocking Robert away and Kyo struck with an Orochinagi that Robert barely dodged in time.

"It's my new counter move," Kyo said, commenting on when Robert had kicked him. "I heard how much mileage Geese and Lilly Kane have gotten out of the Atami Nage that I had to think up some move of my own."

Kyo sent a Yami Barai stream of fire at Robert, but the Kyokugenryu practitioner held his ground, instead gathering up his energy with his hands folded across his chest. And then, just as the attack hit…

"Haoh-Shi-Koh-Ken!" Robert gave his attempt at the legendary move, hoping he did it right. The technique far superior to even the Ryuko Ranbu shot from his hands, although it stopped on contact with the wave of fire.

Yet it was enough, because as the dust settled, Robert flung himself at Kyo, attacking with the previously mentioned Ranbu, hammering Kyo left and right before kicking him away.

"You've taken things to the next step quite a bit," Kyo said as he panted and tried to shake his head to stop it from spinning. Kyokugenryu practitioners certainly had a way of proving they were made of sterner stuff than most fighters… hell, Yuri had put up a terrific game against Yagami, even though she _had_ been injured pretty badly by the end of it. "But now I think it's my turn to do the same!" Kyo pulled back for an Orochinagi and stayed in the position, gathering his own strength up as Robert channeled up the energy for another Ryuko Ranbu. Kyo's entire body gained a burning aura as they two prepared.

"SHIN OROCHINAGI!"

"RYUKO RANBU!"

Fist collided into wall of fire, tremendous shockwaves coming from them. But in the end, both attacks hit home, Kyo again being ravaged by a flurry of punches and kicks, Robert being baked by the stream of fire. Both stumbled away, and then collapsed.

"Well then," Yuri said as she noticed it was Goro Daimon stepping up to fight, "I guess whoever wins this goes to the finals!"

"You're on," Goro answered.

A/N: Well, looks like I'm not going to be able to finish the King of Fighters '97 before this thing's first anniversary on the 22nd of January, but I've come pretty close, and will finish the climactic KoF '96 anyways. And in the final match, Kyo and Iori must settle their differences when the Orochi-possessed Yamazaki makes his attempt on Yuki's life in Eternally Yours.


	42. Eternally Yours

A/N: Man… hard to believe it's almost been a whole year since I started writing "A Single Decision", probably one of the longest and most successful "King of Fighters" fiction stories around. SEE THIS FALCOON! THIS IS HOW YOU ADD TO THE STORY BUT DON'T RUIN IT WITH METROSEXUALS!

As Yuri and Goro prepared to engage in battle to determine who would advance to the final round and take on the Ikari Warriors, Benimaru and Ryo took their well-deserved break, sitting back and relaxing next to Kyo and Robert's prone forms.

"So…" Ryo joked around, "You gonna do anything to Kyo that's gonna make things awkward on the team in the future?"

Benimaru shook his head, and what he said almost made Ryo die of shock…

"Nah… I'm not man enough to be gay."

"WHAT?"

"Well, think about it," Beni said in all honesty, "It takes a real man to be able to say 'No way, I don't need girls to make me feel good… the guys are more than enough'. The kind of man to be able to resist that damned Shiranui bimbo… not like most girls are like that. Besides, I'd never forgive myself if I would bar women access to this hot body of mine…"

"So are you straight or bisexual then?" Ryo asked, slowly inching away from Benimaru just in case.

Beni shrugged. "Whichever one you think is less likely is the truth, that's all I'm saying…"

"So," Ryo said after a moment of thinking, "If I thought you were an alien space monster that spurted out acid instead of blood was the least likely thing…"

"Ryo?"

"Yeah?"

"You're hopeless."

* * *

Goro towered over Yuri as the younger Kyokugenryu practitioner gulped once and then began warming up for the fight. It was all down to her, since poor Robert had managed to tie with Kyo in a tough match. She'd have to fight defensively but in a different way as when she fought Yagami. Goro's fighting style was slow but methodic, no berserker rage involved. It was all 'grab your opponent, throw them around, and when they get up, repeat as necessary.' To handle this, she would need to avoid giving him openings, not like that wouldn't be impossible.

Goro likewise was not underestimating his opponent. Yuri, like Kaphwan, was considerably faster than him, but unlike the Korean, Yuri was a defensive fighter. Although she had been critically injured last year in her fight against Iori Yagami, the Sakazaki girl had gained a certain level of prestige for keeping up with the purple flame user and weaken him enough for Mai to (barely) scrape by with a win. To beat her, Goro knew he had to get close and force her to make a mistake… she wouldn't jump the gun like Kim would.

As the fight began, the two circled each other, neither one willing to make the first move. But both kept their cool, the Judo practitioner noticing that not one bead of sweat had formed on Yuri's forehead. Yuri then casually outstretched a hand, mimicking her brother's infamous "Ora Ora" taunt…

And then a Koah Ken shot out of her other hand, pegging Goro in the side. He winced from the impact… it certainly had a kick to it, but he saw the attack coming from behind it and let Yuri charge.

The girl shot at him, twirling her leg like a tornado, and Goro quickly blocked the strike. As if on instinct, he immediately crouched down, defending himself from Yuri's sweep before swinging one of his fists up, connecting it straight into Yuri's chin. The girl stumbled backwards, but Goro didn't pursue, instead standing his ground and waiting for Yuri to get back up.

When she did, Yuri rubbed her face where the big man had hit… Daimon certainly hit as hard as a tank, that was for sure. She charged again, immediately shooting up into a flying uppercut when Daimon tried to grab her, and she managed to hit him in the chest before flipping away. Goro was still stumbling back as she landed, and Yuri quickly readied for her next move.

"Haoh-Sho-Koh-Ke-"

WHAM! The tremendous force of Goro slamming his hands into the ground shook the Kyokugenryu dojo to its very foundations, knocking Yuri off balance and giving Goro the opening to grab Yuri, kick her legs out, and slam her face-first into the ground. She rolled away, firing a Koah Ken on the ground to buy herself time, but the giant had suddenly sprung to life, sensing Yuri's fading opportunity for a win. With agility that seemed impossible for such a big man, Goro side-stepped the Koah Ken and then was on the recovering Yuri, grabbing her and pounding her into the ground over and over again before throwing her one final time into the air to let gravity do the rest.

Yuri landed with a hard thud and Goro smiled happily and gave a thumb's up to Beni and the by-now recovered Kyo, before pounding his foot into the ground one last time and pumping his fist to the sky as an explosion was heard in the distance.

"You know, I'm going to find out how he pulls that off, one of these days," Ryo muttered, upset about the loss, but Yuri was already on her feet and didn't seem upset about the loss at all. Besides, they were all getting better, and it wasn't like they hadn't lost anything here since the Mexican government had paid for this place in full.

* * *

When Athena regained consciousness, she found herself in a small medical facility, noticing somebody was sitting next to her, although a newspaper was blocking the view of who it was. "You two okay?" came a masculine voice, Athena looking over to see Sie with his arm in a cast, no doubt from his scrape with Ralf's Galactica Phantom.

Athena nervously reached forward, pulling down the newspaper, to see big bad Heidern, the leader of the Ikari Warriors and the only person to beat Kyo in a one-on-one fight and also the man that killed Rugal Bernstein. He didn't seem too menacing in person, though… but that was probably the lack of the eyepatch and his civilian clothes.

"Um… are we okay?" Athena asked nervously, but Heidern shrugged.

"You're both in one piece," Heidern answered. "Sie took quite a bit of abuse from Leona and Ralf… but he seemed sane last time he was conscious, although he somehow ended up with an Ouroboros image on his left hand somehow. As for you, Leona banged you around a bit, but nothing serious."

"So… can we go?"

Heidern nodded. "If it's okay with you and your master, I'd prefer Sie would rest a day or two here so we can monitor him, but you're free to go. Besides, the final match between Leona and Kyo will be in a couple of hours in Southtown. If you want, I can arrange transportation for you."

Athena nodded and wordlessly accepted the offer before hopping out of the bed and yawning. As she walked away, Heidern spoke up again.

"It must hurt, doesn't it?"

Athena knew exactly what he was talking about however, and stopped in the doorway. "More than anything else I've experienced… and I know Sie feels the same way about me."

"It's not the same way with Kensou," Heidern plainly stated. "Sie made his feelings for you known, you could make up your mind about him and in spite of it all, he stays by you, understanding that there is such a thing as unrequited love. Yet he still cares about your own happiness, and I'd wager the eye that Rugal nearly robbed me of that telling Kusanagi how you truly feel would neither rob your of your rivalry with him, nor your friendship with Yuki Kushinida."

Athena didn't answer for a solid minute, and when she did, Heidern understood why she chose to comment only on Kyo's girlfriend. "Funny how she's related to pretty much everything…" She walked out, Heidern looking over at Sie's sleeping form before taking out a radio.

"Pilot? We've got a girl that needs a flight."

* * *

"Quetz!" Geese cheered as he saw his friend step into view, the private box reserved for them located in the arena in Southtown. Maki, upon hearing that Yagami had decided to observe the fight between Leona and Kusanagi, decided to take another step in her 'I'm an Orochi, allegedly' plan, hoping to patch up the Yagami/Kusanagi relationships.

"If it isn't the fowl millionaire of Southtown and its savior too," Goenitz answered as he hugged his friend. "Thanks again, with those scrolls, things might fall into place easily now."

"Thank Lilly Kane and Hon Fu for that," Geese answered, rubbing his arm. "I woulda been a dead man if it weren't for Billy's little sister and his friend stonewalled Terry, Mr. Clockwork Orange, and Yamazaki at the same time… I just happened to be the guy that the Jin Twins were worried about."

"Speaking of them…" Goenitz started to say. Geese shook his head.

"Vanished. MIA. No clue where they could possibly be."

"Whatever, we got a break, we should be thankful. Chris knows what he has to reject now, so that's taken care of, and with Shesha accounted for, Wind, Water, Light, and Fire are all accounted for. Once the Serpent Gods of Life, Death, and Darkness are dealt with, I am _so_ looking forward to just living my life."

"Geese… you're in danger of becoming a good man," Goenitz said as he looked at Geese, the two just looking at each other for a moment before bursting out laughing and then punching each other in the jaw playfully.

"Not a _good_ man, but one that knows he shouldn't piss _too_ may people off."

* * *

The audience below them applauded as the finalists came into view, Leona and Kyo stepping out into the stadium. At one end, Ralf and Clark were cheering on their teammate while Kyo's classmates were shouting and chanting Kyo's name, Shingo Yabuki adding "-san!" while Yuki just sat and smiled.

In a shadowy alcove, choosing not to show herself, Athena watched Kyo prepare to defend his title for the second time.

"I wish I could move on from you, Kyo," she quietly whispered, tears gradually welling up in her eyes before she just let them stream down her face, "But I can't. I'm your friend, and I want to be more… but I can't. But I know you love Yuki, and I can still feel glad, knowing that in spite of this position that I'm in, you can be happy… and letting go is part of love, Kyo. So be happy Kyo, that will be my gift to you."

"So you're the girl that stopped me from fighting Athena again," Kyo joked as he stretched and flicked his flames on. True, his 'loss' to Robert had shaken him a bit, but it was just proof he would have to give it his all and not expect that mass spamming of the Orochinagi would win the fight.

Besides, word was that Leona had pulled a "Super Saiyan" or something last fight and she didn't even know how.

Leona just shrugged. "Is that a good thing or a bad one?"

The audience was massive and wild as the two readied to fight and suddenly charged each other, Leona slashing down with her hand as Kyo sent a Yami Barai stream of fire across the ground. Leona sprang up into the air and shot down, barely missing Kyo as she landed. She immediately sprang up again, however, dodging an Orochinagi and shooting down with a small energy wave. Kyo took the hit and stumbled forward, but spun around and punch Leona in the face as she landed. She kicked back, knocking Kyo away, and charged with an explosive in her hand.

Kyo saw the move coming straight at him, and immediately threw up his defenses. As soon as he saw the bomb, he chopped at Leona's hand and knocked it to the ground. It went off there, temporarily blinding both of them, but Kyo had a pretty good recollection of where Leona had been, and sent two quick snap kicks in that general direction, being rewarded as both hits connected. During the second attack, however, Leona caught Kyo's leg and swept the other one out, knocking Kusanagi to the ground. She stabbed down with her hand, but Kyo rolled away and kicked her in the head before flipping back to her feet.

"Damn good," Kyo said. "Doubt I would've managed to make it this far if I didn't haul ass and train seriously this year."

"Lucky you then," Leona answered. She charged, but when Kyo moved to strike back, the Ikari sprang in reverse, energy sphere slamming into Kyo. As it dissipated, however, Kyo struck back with an Orochinagi, his entire body burning with energy. The fiery wave hit Leona dead on, the Serpent God using what manipulative skill with water she still possessed after her scrape with the Momentum of Wills to withstand the attack.

But then Kyo's other hand struck out with a burning punch, connecting and knocking Leona back even more. Kyo sprang into the air, connecting with a R.E.D Kick although Leona knocked him away with a punch to the gut. Both sported their injuries from the battle, but Leona Heidern and Kyo Kusanagi both knew that it was just starting to get good.

Embodiments of water and fire clashed, the young girl and the Japanese schoolboy that had only had his second year of being a senior remaining before graduating continually testing each other. In the meantime, respective members of the other teams that were present observed the combat, all of them knowing that training would have to get even more serious next year just for them to stay where they were on the respective 'charts'.

After Kyo and Leona exchanged another series of strikes, burning punches for one and razor-sharp chops for the other, they stood panting and glaring at each other.

"You've been doing really well for your first year in the tournament," Kyo said as he nodded his head, simulating a bow.

"Thanks… I had good training," Leona answered. She was just about to strike, but then she heard something.

A fuse was burning inside her fatigues…

Her explosives. The bastard had somehow managed to light their fuses. And they were all about to go off.

Many an otaku's eyes were glued on the arena as Leona's clothing suffered a malfunction that put King's _suspiciously_ fragile shirts seem downright modest, but the smoke and dust that shot up killed any hopes for anything good, and Kyo Kusanagi was going to be the only guy in the stadium nailing her.

With a full-power Orochinagi and then a flurry of burning punches, of course.

When the onlookers could finally get the glimpses they hoped so dearly for, their was almost a uniform groan of frustration that was cut short by a particular pair of mercenaries that beat each one of those fat nerds to a pulp. But Leona was on the ground, unconscious, with her back facing skywards and her undershirt not reduced to atoms.

Then the audience cheered as Kyo Kusanagi raised his hands victoriously…

_Third victory… oh yeah!_ He looked up to see that Goenitz guy getting ready for their fight…

But what he _didn't_ see was Maki Kagura's figure preparing to attack a little later on and… much worse… Dark Yamazaki hidden the audience, hand in his pocket and fingering his knife…

His eyes on Yuki Kushinida.

He had to kill her… even if the vessel died in the process, he had to kill Yuki Kushinida.

But then the Orochi sensed… _him._ Perhaps things could still work out…

* * *

"You're crazy, you know that?" Vice muttered as Yagami paced about a lockerroom, hearing the applause of Kyo's most recent victory. That damn bastard had just won his third KoF… and for the second time Iori had been given the shaft, eliminated in his first round by a couple of idiots!

"Shut up," Iori growled as he looked at Vice and Mature. Both of them were still nursing their wounds, but the thing that hurt Iori the most was how again he had been humiliated.

He could still remember the words…

'I can't do this. Match to Shiranui.'

The words still haunted Iori to this very day. He could still feel nothing but unbridled hatred for them… and then Vice and Mature had screwed up royally… losing to a little kid and an old drunk!

He started walking out when he felt something inside of himself twist… he hunched over, pupils dilating.

"Iori… are you alright?" Mature asked as she put a hand on Iori's back. He turned around, growling and his hands bared like claws.

"OH SHIT!" Mature screamed as Iori charged both of them…

There was blood. Oh, _how there was blood_.

* * *

Kyo was staring up and down Goenitz, sensing the kind of power this guy had underneath those priest robes. The Vatican certainly sat on their ass about pressing charges a lot… (A/N: One nice thing about being Roman Catholic … I'm allowed to insult it.)

"So… you tougher than Rugal at all?" Kyo asked in all honesty. Goenitz nodded.

"Certainly." He snapped his fingers, a tornado shooting up beneath Kyo's feet and sending him flying up into the air. Kyo landed flat on his face, but he sprang back up and wiped the blood from his mouth.

"Alright! You're going down, Wind Man!"

"This isn't 'Mega Man'," Goenitz muttered as he readied into a fighting stance, "And I assure you, that the one thing my wind _won't_ do is just fan your flames!"

The two charged, one of them thinking this would just be another fight, the other knowing that the true fight had yet to emerge.

A/N: The King of Fighters '96 is winding to a close, and blood is already being spilt. Yet Vice and Mature find salvation from two unlikely sources, and the Orochi will discover that Kyo Kusanagi's anger surpasses even his great power when harm comes to Yuki. But through it all, the question that will remain when the horror subsides will be Who Still Stands, and Who Lies Still.


	43. Who Still Stands and Who Stands Still

A/N: This is it… as of today, "A Single Decision" is one year old. 365 days ago, I began a single idea: "What would happen if Geese Howard would be good?" Obviously, a lot of ideas have come afterwards, most notably the Serpent Gods, but we can all see what one choice, and a king's ransom in artistic licensing, can do. I really want to thank not just everybody that has reviewed, but _everyone that has read_. You are all my inspiration, the people telling me I can always figure out what to say to fill up another 5 pages of story material… plus a few extra for funny and almost always-canon Omake sequences. And it feels great to-

Everybody: GET ON WITH IT, ALREADY!

Disclaimer: Don't own this, you know it, but it doesn't matter. GEESE HOWARD FOREVER!

As Kyo and Goenitz clashed in the center of the arena, Kyo was immediately blown back by a fierce gale of wind. Kusanagi stumbled back, and a tough punch caught him in the face.

Kyo re-seized up Goenitz quickly… the guy had a fighting motif that certainly was unique… but he lost to that idiot Terry Bogard, so how bad could it be? _Then again…_ Kyo thought, _That was a solid couple of years ago…_ He sprang at Goenitz again, only to be blown away by an intense gust of wind.

The audience cheered as Kyo landed on his feet and lunged yet again, this time dodging to the left and right, spiraling around Goenitz's wind attacks and then strike out with a flurry of flaming punches. Goenitz suddenly went on the defensive, blocking all of Kyo's attacks but at the cost of being distracted from all else.

Which was why Kyo managed to kick him in the chin twice, spring off, and lash out with an Orochinagi that _would_ have hit… except Goenitz suddenly teleported behind Kyo and elbowed him in the head.

* * *

Yuki smiled as Kyo fought valiantly, but her attention quickly dived away when she saw Athena sit down next to her in the audience. Just by the strained way Athena's eyes appeared, Yuki could tell that something was wrong.

"You know that was Shingo's seat."

Athena shrugged. "I'll move when he gets back." Her voice sounded rather flippant.

"Athena?" she asked innocently, "You okay?"

Her best friend nodded. "Yeah…"

Yuki turned to face her fully and put her hand on Athena's chin to make the girl look at her. "Athena…"

"I don't want to talk about it…"

Another wave of applause from the audience as Goenitz grabbed Kyo by the throat and blasted a tornado around Kyo's neck. He struck back by grabbing Leopold's arm and lighting it on fire, the former priest quickly letting go to pat out the fire.

Yuki turned back and continued to cheer on Kyo as he escaped, but she then said something Athena wasn't expecting.

"I envy you."

Athena couldn't believe it, her voice showed it when she responded. "_You…_ envy _me?_"

Yuki shook her head and smiled weakly. "Look at him out there… I know he loves me, and my last name is simply icing on the cake, but I could _never_ do what you and he do… fight people in a completely sportsman atmosphere. I mean… can you _not_ see the smiles on Goenitz and Kyo's faces? No Rugal, no Terry, no bizarre evil dictator in a dorky red outfit with a boxer, bullfighter, and Muay Thai expert as flunkies… just enjoying the moment and the high it gives you. You have that, Athena… you can make him happy in a way I never will be able to."

To Athena, the sounds of wind clashing against fire, and the uproar of the onlookers seemed perfectly mute as the words sank into her.

"Yuki?" she asked again as she just sat back and watched Kyo fight, "How long have you known?"

"Long enough," Yuki answered.

* * *

Orochi Iori let out one final, triumphant growl before throwing the tattered remains of Vice and Mature on the ground, their dresses pure dark red from their own blood… nearly every vein and artery in their body cut open while every single vital organ had been left _completely_ untouched…

Who said a berserker had no method to his madness?

They were still as good as dead, and Yagami felt the need to be elsewhere as he slunk away, the two women near death.

A quiet, sad, pathetic chuckle from Vice, though, came through loud and clear for them. "Well… our luck couldn't last forever…"

Mature didn't answer… agreeing really wouldn't add anything to their relationship whatsoever. But there was still one thing that she wanted to finally say, because it was the only thing that she would regret never saying out loud.

"Vice…" Mature choked out… she could literally feel the life flow out of her. "There's been one thing… I always wanted to say to you…"

"Oh?" Vice said in response, wincing in pain again. She was _so_ going to enjoy actually dying and getting out of all of this agony leading up to it.

"It's just… we spent a lot of time together and…" her vision was going black… she was running out of time… "and I love you…" And as the darkness claimed her, she realized that even not hearing Vice's answer would be okay… it was the principle of being honest that made Mature smile as she closed her eyes for seemingly the last time.

* * *

"You certainly live up to your reputation," Goenitz said as he caught his breath for a moment. "You're pretty good… but Geese hits harder than you on his worst days."

"I'm sure," Kyo said as he charged again, flaming fists shooting at Goenitz from seemingly every angle. The Serpent God blocked them as best he could, smiling as he managed to catch Kyo's fist.

"You're up to stuff, though…" Goenitz grunted, "From what Vice and Mature said concerning Rugal, you definitely had the strength to beat him… even _if_ Heidern did it."

"What?" Kyo asked, amazed at what the man had said, "You mean Vice and Mature worked for _you_?"

"Exactly…" Goenitz said, "I had been hoping they could find out whoever gave him the power in the first place, but they didn't have any luck with that…"

A sudden wind, secretly generated by Goenitz yet one he acted had been from another source nonetheless, blew through the arena, and Kyo and Goenitz looked around.

Up above in the observation box, Geese smiled. _Alright Maki… showtime…_

There was a scream of horror from somebody in the audience as a black beam of light shot down from the sky, 'Orochi Maki' stepping into view and smiling as she looked at Kyo.

"It's been a while," she said as she looked at Kyo. Goenitz's face had the perfect look of mock surprise on this… playing the villain was certainly a different way to achieve their goals of stopping the Orochi and other Momentum of Wills-affected Serpent Gods, but provided it worked, she wasn't complaining.

"You…" Kyo stammered, recalling how she had casually overpowered him in their previous encounter. Of course… that had been a bit ago and Kyo knew he had _seriously_ busted his ass training after that… "You're one of the Orochi, aren't you?"

Maki shrugged. "Guilty as charged…" She noticed the audience's shocked looks, but didn't seem bothered by it. Thanks to a few little tricks with the Mirror of Yata, she wouldn't be anybody recognized as a member of Kagura Corp., except for a few specifics in the audience. "Of course… I do believe it's time to kill the great Kyo Kusanagi, as well as Leopold Goenitz in front of the whole world… don't you think?"

"Try it," Goenitz answered back. This was going to be awkward and difficult… to test Kyo's strength since if the Orochi's homicidal spirit _did_ somehow assume physical form, it might be smart to have the Kusanagi flames actually strong enough to be a threat.

Maki grinned and charged. "YOU'RE BOTH DEAD!" She shot straight at Kyo, fist ready for a stabbing attack, but something stopped her.

A scream… a scream from a very important someone to Kyo… Yuki.

They all turned to see him, Ryuji Yamazaki, right there… his knife buried to the hilt in her heart, Athena's shocked look at the killer.

And all of a sudden, all of this didn't matter to Kyo… he didn't know who that asshole was, but he was going to pay.

"YOU BASTARD!" Kyo shouted as he charged into the crowd, flying at a velocity that shocked the Orochi-vessel, Kyo's body slamming into his in a great burning image, the two breaking through the bleachers into the underground area of the arena. Maki and Goenitz quickly exchanged glances and ran in afterwards, seeing Geese was already on the move too.

* * *

Shingo didn't really know what he was doing or where Kyo even was… he had been getting something to drink when Yuki had been attacked and all that. But here he was, running around in the interior of the stadium… the one or two guards that had tried to stop him suffering from concussions.

He rounded a bend, running in the general direction of the fighting, but when he reached a locker room, he stopped dead in his tracks.

"Oh… my… god…"

Two women's bodies where on the ground, their clothes saturated in blood…

He looked around, shouting and screaming, eventually getting the attention of one or two people… he instantly recognized one of them as Geese Howard, the other looking to be his bodyguard. Geese seemed enraged at first, wondering what had happened… Shingo had no idea what he was blurting out, but it seemingly appeased Geese as the man flipped out a cell phone and dialed 911. He shouted down the hall to two people named 'Maki' and 'Quetz', both of them arriving in a moment and utterly horrified by what they saw. Recognizing one of them as Goenitz, he was surprised to see the man murmur a brief prayer.

But that had no importance right now, and Shingo took off again full speed, with one thought on his mind over everything else.

_Yuki… you're not in this alone… but you can't give up, because Kyo's not going to give up!_

* * *

And that was certainly true as the completely furious Kusanagi utterly and completely demolished the Orochi's vessel in battle. The bathroom was more or less a sauna now… everything metal liquefying more and more every second as Yamazaki received the beating of his life. There was no method to it whatsoever… it was just a question of how much abuse Kyo could deliver off the top of his head before the bastard just broke down, cried, and begged to be spared.

Oddly enough, however, Dark Yamazaki seemed horrified at Kyo's brutality, but showed no sign of remorse.

"I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!" Kyo roared as he systematically pounded his fist into each any every one of Yamazaki's ribs, using perfect precision to roast the flesh while at the same time breaking the bones. The guy wasn't even bothering fighting back for one reason or another…

… And then Kyo was slammed into the wall. He turned to see Yagami there… hunched over and looking rather bestial… Kyo knew exactly what had happened. And to be honest, he really didn't give a damn about it.

Yamazaki grinned as he pulled his crippled body away from the two, Iori lunching at Kyo. But the Kusanagi really didn't care about an age-old blood feud right now. He was just going to kill that bastard that had killed Yuki.

He slammed into Iori, throwing him to the side before he came down on Yamazaki, hands burning with a crimson flame that was as bright as the Sun as he clamped down on the guy's neck. He went all out, lighting his entire body on fire as Orochi Iori charged at him from behind. Kyo turned in time to see Yagami and spun around, so the only thing at his stabbing hand struck was Yamazaki's heart.

The body suddenly took on a sick, twisted grin as the light grew dim, if there had ever been any light to begin with, in Dark Yamazaki's eyes, and a single phrase escaped his lips.

"For the Earth…"

And then it seemed like he spat up all his bodily fluids in one massive stream, Iori's hand pulled out of him. Kyo looked up at his family's nemesis, but saw Iori was staggering backwards, blinking in a confused daze.

"What the hell…" Iori muttered as he looked around. He stopped when he caught sight of Kyo again and the dead man still in Kyo's arms, his entire body still on fire. "Kusanagi?"

"Yagami," Kyo growled back as he threw Yamazaki's now-incinerated remains away. "I don't give a damn about you right now… get out of my sight."

He walked out of one door, Iori still standing there before he let off an arrogant snort and went out another. He'd finish this another time when Kyo would be in his right senses.

* * *

Everything had been a blur for all parties related, and the three separate rooms at Southtown General Hospital had a diverse assortment of visitors.

Yuki Kushinida, by _far_, had been the luckiest of the three women that had been brought in, as Doctor Trevor Vincent (yep… that OC I introduced a bunch of chapters ago makes probably his last appearance) had himself been witness to. The madman's knife had all but completely lacerated her heart… to be honest he had no idea how Yuki had survived the initial attack. Supposedly, a mixture of the immediate medical treatment, the way her body had been when she had been stabbed so as to limit blood loss, and no less than several miracles from God himself had saved the girl.

She was still horribly injured, but alive. The road to recovery would be hard, and she most likely would be bed-ridden for at least a year and a half, but within a decade, the only reminder she would have of the ordeal was a small scar across her chest.

Emily Maturson and Celia Vie, however, had arguably met far worse fates. Around their beds had been a constant vigil consisting of a young female member of the Ikari Warriors, Geese and Marie Howard, Leopold Goenitz, a woman that had a slight resemblance to the one that had mysteriously appeared and then disappeared in the exhibition match, her little sister…

And that young boy that Vincent himself had helped deliver. Through it all, young Rock Howard, "Fatal Fury" hat proudly on his head, had never stopped praying at a foot of their bed.

Vincent thought nothing of it at first… but after the first two days, something was notably creepy about it. Celia and Emily's vitals had been on a fast and slippery downward slope for the first few hours, but since that boy had been praying, hoping, their vitals had stayed perfectly level.

Make no mistake, Vincent was sure nothing more than a miracle was keeping those two secretaries from slipping off the edge into the abyss of Death, but it was almost as if Death itself didn't want them.

Then again, there were many things doctors did not know, when it came to Rock Howard.

* * *

Her hand trembled as she knocked on his door… Athena Asamiya was not exactly sure this was the right thing for her to do…

The way Kyo looked, however, when he opened the door, cast all doubt from her mind. Shizuka and Saisyu had said he had been taking Yuki's near-death experience harder than anyone could possibly imagine…

That was the understatement of the Universe.

His always-cocky attitude was gone… he had stayed at home for the past few weeks, simply having his parents send in his homework when it was due. Most notable, every single one of them had perfect scores, with Kyo writing considerably more than would be deemed necessary, but write he did.

Athena was certain it was just something to focus is mind on. And there he was, her best friend's boyfriend… the guy she used as inspiration for all those romance songs. He was a wreck… his clothes looked like he hadn't changed them in the past week, he smelled, and his eyes were puffy and red.

"Kyo," she said quietly, half-expecting the door to be slammed in her face. "I…"

And then he just hugged her, he just held her so tight, the tears streaming down his eyes.

"Athena…" he softly sobbed… "I can't do this… she's alive and I should be thankful for that above all else… but just seeing her like that…"

"She'll be fine, Kyo," Athena whispered, "She's not going to die. She wouldn't do that to you."

"But I couldn't do anything…"

"You killed him Kyo."

"But-"

Athena had no idea what took hold of her… but she knew she had to. She just looked up at him, seeing how he looked. Yuki would recover, that was almost completely assured. But Kyo _needed_ her right at that moment… and even if it were to be just a life preserver, it would be a duty Athena would take to see him to safety.

She kissed him. And when she broke it, the world seemed a little less cruel.

A/N: As the King of Fighters '96 draws to a close, one question still remains… what of the remaining Serpent Gods? Already the lines are being drawn for the King of Fighters '97, and more new teams will emerge to find the truth, the horrifying truth as to who is the Serpent God of Life. And Iori Yagami finds two unlikely teammates to work with in Japan Team Revamped.


	44. Japan Team Revamped

A/N: Sorry for not updating for awhile… between busting my ass so I could be an alternate for State Competition in Speech and Debate and working on other fanfictions, this sadly took the backburner. But I'll make it up to you, I swear!

Geese: You better.

Disclaimer: Yeah. He'd better. (looks around) What? Oh… and I don't own this.

Chizuru slumped down at a table in the back of the bar, catching her breath after literally busting a move to the sometimes nihilistic, but addictive and popular music of the band known as "Maiden Masher". It's lead singer… and resident psychopath of the Yagami family, had _really_ taken it up a notch in the quality of his already excellent songs due to his not-so-friendly competition with CYS.

"Well, I guess that'll be enough for now," Iori said to the audience, groans of frustration bringing a smirk to Iori's face as his band stepped off the stage. He wiped the sweat from his face and joined his associates to the bar to regain their musical spirits by buying some alcoholic ones. Chizuru immediately got up, however, as Iori took his beer and began downing it in the privacy of a corner booth.

_Okay… stick to the plan…_ Chizuru thought as she slowly walked up to him, taking a sealed envelope out of her pocket and sitting up next to him.

True, they had never spoken before, but one was a Kagura and the other was a Yagami, and the sight of the invitation to next year's King of Fighters that Chizuru put on the table was proof enough to Iori that this was serious.

"Age?" Iori asked.

"About the same as yours."

"Fighting abilities?"

"You'll see soon enough."

"Ever killed anybody before?" Iori asked. He turned to Chizuru, who looked back at him, reached over, took _his_ beer, and downed it in one gulp.

"I'll show you how far I'll go, if you want. I hear enough people keel over in the ally behind that nobody really gives a damn anymore."

Iori smirked at her balls… or something… before standing up and cracking his neck. "Sorry. Already got teammates this year anyways."

"Who?" Chizuru said. This was news to her... and Maki too! Who would want to sign up with Iori after two years of his teammates being brutalized… although thankfully Vice and Mature were stable by now although still not conscious.

"Ran into them last November," Iori said. "You wouldn't believe the looks on their faces, but they agreed to it."

"I asked who," Chizuru stated again.

Iori just turned to her and smiled with that look saying 'I'm a total jackass, but what are you going to do about it, _bitch_?' "You'll see soon enough."

* * *

It was well past midnight when Chizuru arrived back home, slightly inebriated, but nothing serious. She immediately walked into Maki's hut and slumped down.

"Any luck?" her big sister asked. Chizuru shook her head.

"Nope… Yagami's already got a team this year. Don't know who would take him in after last year but…" she shrugged. "Stuff happens."

Maki looked down at the ground and swore before looking up. "Can't say we didn't try…" she flipped open her cell phone and dialed a number. "Goenitz? Plan B is in order."

"Plan B?" Chizuru asked as Maki hung up.

Maki grinned. "Our backup. I'm going to need that invite though."

* * *

"Any clues or suspects?" Hon Fu asked as he stood with Dorai in the middle of the late Cheng Sinzan's office. Between being debriefed by the Southtown PD after his little scuffle and the flight back to China, he had really lost time investigating the Cheng case.

Dorai shook his head. "Nothing. And as you can see… it's gonna be hell for an autopsy."

'Hell' was an understatement… the entirety of the fat bastard had been _ripped apart_ and torched, although nobody knew what the order to it was. Before the doctors could cut him open to find anything out, they'd have to put him together first…

Hon Fu looked down and tapped his head twice in frustration. Another detective called out, however, and Dorai and Hon Fu headed over to him. The guy looked like he was new to the force, but old enough to make Hon Fu suspect he had been transferred.

"What is it?" Hon Fu asked.

The detective quickly moved aside, showing Hon Fu and his superior the laptop he was using to salvage what was left of Cheng's computer… essentially a slab no thicker than a pancake.

"Any success?" Dorai asked. The detective shook his head, but immediately elaborated.

"With that, _no…_ but I started doing some thinking. Everything on Cheng's _hard drive_ would have been totaled, there's no way we can get anything from it…"

"But there still remains Internet accounts," Hon Fu said, understanding where this was going. "Any luck with that?"

The detective nodded. "Yes sir, we've scoured most of his various e-mail accounts and archaeology blogs, and we managed to find something interesting."

"Oh?"

"Every e-mail he received was deleted. Every blog or message board post he made is deleted. Someone, or some group, deleted _everything_."

"Are you sure?" Dorai asked, looking the detective right in the eyes.

"Yes sir."

He let out a long sigh, walking away. "Those are the breaks some time… come on, Hon Fu. Let's look around the rest of the office, maybe something will spring up."

The detective watched as the two men walked away before turning back to his laptop and opening up an e-mail account. After chancing a look around, he hunched over and began typing. He was quick but careful, attaching a number of documents to the message before sending it off.

"Hey, I didn't catch your name!"

Hon Fu came running back, and the detective swore under his breath, closing out the windows before Hon Fu could see the word "Shiranui" in his username. He turned around, trying to keep cool as he answered. "Dohko." Hon Fu looked at him for a moment, and the ninja in disguise suddenly wondered if he was sweating… no of course not…

But the bastard that had humiliated Master Bogard was _right there!_

Hon Fu looked at him again before shrugging and walking away. "Oh well… carry on."

* * *

"I see," Geese said as he stood in his office, "Yeah, that makes sense, Quetz. I'll be sure to brush up on my techniques. Alright, see you soon… bye." He hung up and then looked at Marie standing there. "Planning for next year's KoF."

"You're going to enter?"

Geese nodded. "With Quetz and Maki… the 'Corporate Boss Team'… although I hear the name's too long so it'll probably be cut down to 'Boss Team'… has a nice ring to it."

"Why?" she asked. It wasn't as if she was sounding betrayed, she just wanted to know as she walked up to Geese and hugged him. She just held him close, resting her head on his chest and closing her eyes.

"Some things just don't make sense… Maki and Goenitz think something slipped by them."

"Like what?"

"Like another Serpent God… even putting everything into account, they were thinking Yuki Kushinida's miraculous recovery, no matter how slow it is taking, is the sign of a Serpent God in the work… and those of Life and Death are still unaccounted for."

"Yuki's no fighter though…"

"True," Geese continued, "But there was a particular girl next to her that's already had a record of being able to psychically restore people's strength."

"You think… _Asamiya…_ is a Serpent God?"

"Entirely possible… one of her teammates was one, after all."

"But what if you're wrong? You can't just accuse somebody like that…"

"That's where my suggestion came in."

"Suggestion?"

"Including a 'loser's bracket' for this year's KoF, where it's one-on-one instead of the teams against each other. It'll put a bit more stress on the people if they get knocked into it… they might do _anything_ to come out with the win… if I'm right, Asamiya might undergo that kind of stress. And as a safeguard, we were hoping to unite the three Sacred Treasures into one team… but Yagami's already managed to find two more idiots to team up with, so that plan's sunk. But Maki got to thinking of forming a team with me and Quetz."

"And I'm sure your utterances of 'predictable' will scare up whoever you're gunning for, right?" Marie said, a little happier. She leaned up and kissed him, then just rested her head on his shoulder.

"Geese… just promise me you'll come home in one piece… for Rock."

"For you and for Rock," Geese answered. He looked down at her, one of the few people that had seen through his charade as 'Ken Masters' and yet held her tongue down… or at least for speaking and smiled.

Marie smirked before answering him. "Predictable."

* * *

"Name?"

"Li Xiangfei," the Chinese girl said as she bowed out of respect for the two older women sitting down at a table in front of her.

"Fighting style?" Mai asked.

"A combination of some Chinese martial arts."

"Any previous tournament experience?" King, this time.

"No, but I have to throw the bums out all the time at work."

King snapped her fingers when she realized where she had seen the girl before. "That's where… you work at the Pao Pao Café, right?"

Xiangfei nodded. "Yeah… it's the only place that makes enough business in town to pay for feeding me…" she blushed at the last part, a few beads of sweat forming on her rather large brow.

"Age?" King asked again.

"Fifteen," Li answered quickly, only to see Mai and King look up at her.

"No way… no way," King said as she shook her head. "I'm _not_ having somebody young on my team."

Tears suddenly welled up in Xiangfei's eyes as she humorously stared at King. "But… but… how can you be soooooo meeaaaaaan!"

"For your own good," King answered plainly, "Have you ever fought anybody that can cut you up with his bare hands? Because that's just one of the guys in the KoF… come back in a year or two, kid."

Xiangfei ran away screaming, as Mai turned to an exhausted King.

"You can be one heartless bitch sometimes," Mai drawled. King turned to her and shrugged.

"She'll spite me and train her butt off for next year, good enough for me," King answered. "Gotta invest for future tournaments, right?"

"Of course…" Mai said as she slid the list of possible entrants over to Chizuru, "Investments don't work when you _say that to everyone._"

"My bad," King answered, "Nobody seemed good enough yet."

"Well, unfortunately for _us_, though, Kasumi's off at doing some play in Japan since you just _had _to open her eyes to Shakespeare, so we're one member short. _Again_. And you won't let me call up another Shira-"

"One of you is enough, thank you," King interrupted. Three years of being on the same team hadn't really smoothed over their relations, and Shiranui sightings during the Jin Incident really didn't help matters at all either.

But before either of them could act on pent-up frustrations, the door opened again and another young woman walked into the bar.

"Uh, hi… I was hoping that you would still have an opening here?" King and Mai looked at the newcomer, she wasn't that much younger than Mai, was wearing a black leather biker's jacket and white tee-shirt underneath.

Mai looked at King, who simply shrugged in that way saying 'You were saying?' King then turned back to the girl and smiled. "Okay then, what's your name?"

"Chizuru Kagura," the Yata descendant answered.

* * *

"DAIMON!" Benimaru pleaded over a pay phone in the park, "Come on! It's bad enough Kyo's teaming up with Asamiya this year, I'm gonna be two people short if you decide to retire!"

"It's not retiring yet," the Judo master said over the phone, "It's gunning for one more trophy, and the Judo Masters '97 would be perfect one to complete my collection. Not to mention deliver a slap to the face of that cookie fanatic too."

"You're not helping," Benimaru said as he slumped down. "Whatever… I'm probably outta this tournament without even a fight… See you soon." He hung up and sighed, kicking a rock nearby and muttering a few insults at his teammates. Who saved their asses way back in '94 against Heidern, after all?

"WILL YOU GET OFF MY LEG ALREADY?" barked someone with an Osaka accent as Benimaru turned to see two young boys coming near him, one wearing a school uniform similar to Kyo's clinging to the other's left leg. He recognized the one standing instantly as Sie Kensou, although the one on the ground was one that Benimaru only had a slight recollection of.

"Sorry…" the other said as he tried to get up after Kensou had stopped, "Kyo had really pulled out all the stops this time… I'm just worn out is all…"

"Kensou…" Beni asked incredulously, "Who is this?"

Kensou sighed and shook his head. "Athena dumped me too…" his voice didn't hide his sorrow, "But Kyo suggested this guy be our third member."

"_Our?_"

Kensou nodded, handing Benimaru a letter. The Shooting fighter ripped it open and quickly read over it. "Yeah… Master Chin's off training Bao at the moment, so he won't be able to make it either."

Dear Sie and Beni… 

_Sorry about the rough break for next year's KoF, plus we heard about Daimon doing a Judo tournament at the same time. But Shingo's a real nice guy and has a great work ethic, so we thought he'd be perfect for you two to work with._

_See you next tournament,_

Athena and Kyo 

"You have got to be kidding me," Beni said as he looked at Shingo get to his feet, panting from his sparring match against Kyo not even two hours before.

"I agree," Sie added, but Shingo just looked at them with a frustrated expression.

"I'm not _that_ bad!" Shingo shot at them, "And besides…" he grinned and took out a small black book. "I've got _this!_"

"'This'?" Beni and Sie asked in unison.

Shingo nodded. "Yeah. I take really good notes on Kyo's fighting style. Wanna see?"

Sie and Benimaru turned to each other.

Shingo Yabuki was _the best third member EVER!_

A/N: Again, sorry for waiting so long to update. Gotta roll with the punches, right? Anyways, the teams are getting ready for next year's KoF, and the fights will be hard and intense as Geese Howard Returns.


	45. Geese Howard Returns

A/N: Here we go… the teams are again formed, and for some astute readers, cough SHEO DARREN uncough you've realized who Kyo and Athena's final teammate is. For those that haven't pieced it together, no worries… because it's the first focus of this chapter! And by the way, Mizuki from Samurai Showdown II is an awesome boss… my second favorite boss of all!

Geese: Coming in second after me, right?

LSN: Obviously.

"Some more tea, sir?" a waiter asked as Kyo looked up to him. He shook his head before looking to the other side of the table. "What about you, ma'am?"

Athena shook her head as well, but spoke up nevertheless. "I think our late friend might like something cold to drink, preferably non-alcoholic."

"Of course, ma'am," the waiter bowed before walking away, and Athena just sat back and stared at Kyo and smiled.

The past few months had felt so…_ right_. Not to mention he was finally going to graduate this year, something his parents were doing the 'happy dance' over. In fact, the kind of effort he put into studies after Yuki's injury had not faded in the slightest, and he would be graduating in the top 25 percent of the class… it probably would have been much higher provided he hadn't been held back three times. At the same time, Athena had enjoyed her time with him on a personal level very much, although Yuki, still bedridden, might fall victim to ranting and raving when she would finally recover consciousness.

"Get any hate-mail from Benimaru or Shingo?" she asked. Kyo shook his head.

"Any from Sie?"

"None at all." She smirked when she saw a figure that had originally been intimidating approach them. "Oh, and look who just showed up!"

Kyo turned, seeing their third team-member still sporting the sour look on his face. "How's it going, Yagami?"

* * *

"You're absolutely kidding me," Robert said as he, Ryo, and Eiji all sat down at La Illusion, each on their third beer. "You are absolutely joking, Eiji."

The Kisaragi ninja, more friend than foe with they Kyokugenryu practitioners after the Wyler incident, shook his head in complete honesty.

"I am on the sshtraight and level, guysh," Eiji said, alcohol slightly slurring his speech. No problem, he could still clearly see those four guys sitting next to him… a bit blurry and melding into two at times, but nothing dangerous. "Yagami came forward ahnd offered to form a team with Kushanagi and Ashamiya…"

Ryo laughed incredulously, more at Eiji's inebriated condition than what he was saying. "Why would he do that?"

"Well…" Robert mused out loud, "In the past two years, he's lost the chance to fight Kyo by losing the first round… by sheer luck, mind you. Easiest way to make sure he fights Kyo… and maybe they've even smoothed out relations."

Ryo and Eiji looked at Robert for a moment before bursting out into laughter, King peeking out from storage, baffled by the three of them.

Ryo finally managed to wipe the tears from his eyes and taking a look at Robert's mug. "King?" he called out joyously, "I have _no_ idea what Robert had… but I want some."

* * *

"This everything?" Terry Bogard asked as he finished going through the document of what was truly at the heart of the Jin scrolls. His brother, sitting opposite of him at a table, nodded.

"We checked every single one of Cheng's online accounts and the information stored on them that the killers didn't clean out. This is everything we can find, and what's there seems to all fit together."

Terry nodded in approval. "Thanks. With any luck, the next time I see Howard and the others will be the last time they draw breath... it'll just take some time to get all of this set out."

"Speaking of the fighting," Andy spoke up, "Teams for the next King of Fighters are already being formed, and I thought you might want to take a look at some of them." He handed Terry another piece of paper, the elder Bogard surprised at the inclusion of a loser's bracket this time.

"Howard's formed a team… how surprising," Terry mused as his eyes strayed down the list. A number of the usual crowd… but Terry's eyes stopped after hitting the last name. "_Yagami and Kusanagi?_" he exclaimed, his voice holding a considerable level of shock in it. Athena's name was right after theirs, but the fact that Iori, who had initially agreed to be on the team Terry sponsored simply for the shot at Kyo, was what surprised him the most.

"My sentiments exactly when I saw it," Andy explained. "I'm assuming this is to assure that Kyo is close enough for Iori to get his shot in when he wants… probably some other motives in there we can't really understand. So what's the plan?"

Terry looked up at him and thought. Terry knew that he probably beat any one of those idiots… but all three would be pushing his luck severely. "Contract Kisaragi out again, if anything else his personal connection with Kyo doesn't prevent him from functioning, and he certainly is still rivals with Ryo. I'm sure Kim will also want another shot at Billy Kane after humiliating him in '95."

"What about you?" Andy asked. In the first two of the team KoF, Terry had still been recovering from that damnable Mighty Raging Storm, and last time a ploy to strike at Southtown had distracted him. Andy himself was hoping to fight along his brother and tear through the competition, but Terry shook his head.

"Can't do it. I've decided to probe the powers of the Jin scrolls more… but don't worry." Terry raised up his fingers and then continued. "Two years… 1998. You'll find a new tournament similar to the old King of Fighters back in Southtown. I'm thinking of calling it 'King of Fighters' and then either tacking on 'Maximum Impact' or 'Maximum Mayhem'… can't decide yet. And it's _then_ that I will break Geese Howard and make him pay for what happened to our father. You best be sure of that."

* * *

"Why did Dad have to die?" a young, African American boy asked as he and a police officer stood in front of the gravestone labeled 'Leon S. Bluefield.'

"I don't know," Kevin answered as the two of them started away. The kid was young… _too_ young to have his dad stripped away from him. "I was wondering why it wasn't the other way around…" _Yeah_…_ you cowardly idiot,_ a cynical voice in his head spoke up. _Just standing there while the guy… some best friend you are._ "Let's go, Marky." He led the young boy away, noticing one of his fellow officers was visiting a grave as well, Geese Howard's bodyguard at her side and wearing formal apparel instead of his traditional open "No Smoking" jacket.

How did "Blue" Mary feel when Bogard had killed her partner right in front of her? Kevin tossed the idea around as he led Marky away… he hadn't even been on the force when she, just a newbie, had her mentor claimed by Terry just to send a message to her. But what had she really done about it? She had a job to do, and she struggled on nonetheless, even managing to fare decently and shame Terry three times in the King of Fighters '93, defeating her first two opponents and then deliberately forfeiting her match with Geese.

Kevin reflected on this as he led Marky away. His partner and best friend had left him with the most important thing in the world. No matter what, Kevin knew he had two duties. The first was to protect Marky and keep him safe.

The second would be to train and one day bring justice to "Freeman" and avenge Leon.

* * *

Exhausted from teaching class that day and then having an impressive match against Geese that still ended with her defeat, Lilly fond nothing better than just resting next to Joe, watching a few episodes of "Mystery Science Theater 3000". The cynical and witty remarks of the three movie viewers made the horrible abomination known as "Manos: The Hands of Fate" seem rather bearable, even enjoyable.

The next KoF would be coming up in a few months, and Lilly was rather surprised, along with everybody else, to see Iori and Kyo on the same team. But she knew that Geese would be there to protect Billy, and Kagura and Leopold were top-notch fighters too.

As if reading her mind, however, Joe spoke up. "So… you excited about Geese finally resolving everything with the Sakazakis?"

Lilly giggled once as she cuddled up next to him. "Nah… even if he fights them, then everything won't be settled. I'd like to see him fight Takuma in a friendly match, to be honest."

"You're waiting to see Geese fight the guy that up and humiliated him way back in the King of Fighters 1980?" Joe said, surprised at the remark. "Lilly, first of all… Takuma would have to _come out_ of retirement. He's busy just whiling the days away as a widower and keeping his schools running. And second, you have standards that are just way, _way_ to high for anybody. At this rate, you'll be a little old lady and won't have ever fought along with your brother in the King of Fighters!"

Lilly just looked up at him and grinned. "You think that? You really do?"

"YES!" Joe answered, realizing how absurd this whole thing was.

"Really?' Lilly asked, her grin changing to be a tad more mock-sinister. "Because I thought my standards were pretty low… I settled for _you_ didn't I?"

Joe returned the favor, looking down at her and then standing up. "That's it, little lady… you're going down!"

"Oh really?" Lilly asked, readying into a fighting stance. "You gonna moon me again?"

"It's a free shot!" Joe shot back. "How dumb to you have to be to pass one of those up!"

A series of short yelps and playful laughter followed, the two rolling around on the ground before finally kissing, looking happily into each other's eyes…

And then the sound of what seemed to be a war-hammer smashing into a brick wall and shattering it came into earshot. The two fighters got up slowly, wondering what would be the cause of it. After tip-toeing out of Lilly's room, earning suspicious stares from students seeing Joe in his boxers like usual, as well as hearing the thunderous impacts, they got past into the main training room. They were dead silent at what they observed.

Geese Howard stood in front of a series of massive stone bricks, laid out like a table but much thicker. Some of them were reduced to rubble, and as they arrived, Joe and Lilly saw Geese place a glass vase on top of the closest undamaged bricks. His fist slammed down right on top of the vase, yet it didn't show even the slightest crack.

Instead, a crack appeared so suddenly in the brick below it that Lilly and Joe couldn't believe their eyes, and then just as quickly, the entire brick shattered. Geese then picked up the vase again and did the same to the next brick and then the next, each one with perfect precision.

After breaking every single one, Geese looked up, seeing the two of them standing there. "Oh…" he said, "You should have spoken up. I would have done this elsewhere then."

"It's… okay…" Lilly said, suddenly realizing she was nervously sweating. "I just… this isn't standard training for you now, is it?"

Geese suddenly laughed at the remark and shook his head afterwards. "Heh… no. Just wanted to see if my skill was good enough. Won't happen again."

"It better not…" Joe responded, wide-eyed. "Lilly, have my legs stopped shaking yet?"

"No."

"Why do they feel that way then?"

"Because," Geese answered in a matter-of-fact tone, "your entire body is in perfect synch with your legs. Might want to change your pants too, Higashi… people will get curious." He turned and walked away, wiping the sweat from his face.

* * *

Dinner that night at home seemed… different. Geese really couldn't put his finger on it. It wasn't like their wasn't subject matter to talk about, Marie just seemed… bothered by something.

Geese waited until Rock went to bed to speak up with his wife, the two of them taking a walk along the grounds. No words were exchanged, that wasn't the point. Geese just held Marie's hand and walked with her, trusting her to talk when she felt it was right. It wasn't until they had turned back to the mansion that Marie finally spoke up.

"Geese… what would you do for Rock… if you were alone?"

"Alone?" he asked.

"If I were… gone, what would you do for him?" Marie was not surprised the question did not receive an immediate response. Geese was taking this seriously, weighing Marie's words in full.

By the time they had reached the front door, Geese answered. "Anything and everything to make you proud of him, no matter the personal cost to myself."

Again, silence. This time it was Marie's turn to understand the meaning behind the words, although she answered in considerably less time. She looked back at Geese, her smile coming back into view. It was not a false smile, it was one of a woman knowing the only doubt in her heart had been swept away. "Sounds wonderful," she said, as if their previous topic never had existed. "Then let's go in. I hear they're having a 'Perry Mason' marathon on tonight."

Geese let the subject drop as well, there was no reason to speak more on the subject as he walked into the house with her. "Sounds good. Although just once I'd like to see a courtroom-drama crossover… you never see those."

Marie turned back to Geese, faking a look of disappointment. "Okay, Mr. Howard. You want a crossover, then how about you go into one!"

"You think I can just magically appear alongside those guys from 'Street Fighter' whenever I want?" Geese answered, walking alongside her. "You can't insert me into a work of fiction, dear."

"You can in the omake…"

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

* * *

Iori was seriously considering hiring a bodyguard or something as another familiar figure pulled up seat next to him at a bar.

"Nanakase," Iori said, his tone detached and uncaring.

"Yagami," the white-haired man responded.

"You're not going to be crying 'bloody murder' over that last performance are you?" Iori asked as he looked over his shoulder, surprised Shermie and Chris weren't there.

"Far from it, wondering more about your team this year for the King of Fighters than anything else. Besides, band's on hiatus at the moment. But back to your team-"

Iori snorted. "Like you give a damn about that?"

"Oh, I'm surprised," Yashiro answered. "But you should hear some of the news shows… _they're_ the ones screaming 'bloody murder'. I'm just wondering why?"

"I thought it was obvious… makes sure Kyo's in the range of my fist at all times."

"You don't need the King of Fighters for that…" Yashiro answered. "I mean, he's down to the wire at high school, but he's almost done anyways. You could easily just jump him there. Wouldn't be hard, would it?"

"But it wouldn't be worth it without an audience watching."

"Exactly, but there's gotta be something else right?"

Iori didn't answer, he just stood up and paid for his drink. As he turned and started away, Yashiro grabbed him by the shoulder.

"We're not done-"

Iori spun around, grabbing him by the throat and throwing him to the floor. "No, we _are_ done here. And you better watch what you and your damn little band say around me. And if _you_ really want to come after me, then there's always the King of Fighters… but I doubt you're much of a fighter."

"Don't push your luck, Yagami," Yashiro answered. His fists were clenched, but Iori simply walked out.

Yashiro waited until he was a few blocks away from the bar and making sure there wasn't anybody suspicious around before he flipped his cell phone open. He dialed a preset number, waiting until the person on the other end picked up.

"Kyo here."

"Ran into Yashiro a moment ago… he's definitely Orochi. I'd bet my life on it."

"How'd it go?"

"Not bad… everything getting planned for the next tournament?"

"Everything," Kyo answered.

* * *

Shermie sighed as she dumped all her bags on the table in CYS's apartment and called out to Chris. She knew Yashiro was hitting the bars tonight, but she wondered where Chris was… the lights had been off and Chris had said he would be studying for exams all day.

Shermie looked around, calling out his name as she approached his room. The door was closed, but not locked. Knocking on it several times and waiting to make sure Chris wasn't just asleep or something, Shermie eventually opened it.

Her blood immediately froze.

There had obviously been a fight here… one _hell_ of a fight… everything in here was wrecked… shocking due to the pristine condition of everything outside. Seeing a note hanging from a string, Shermie grabbed it and snapped it off before reading it. Suddenly her hand went limp, a double-dose of shock coming into being for her.

_The 'god of destruction' will be sacrificed for the greater good at the next King of Fighters. And there will be blood._

A/N: The next King of Fighters is drawing near, and the biggest, most epic tournament will attract many. But in the meantime, the stakes could never be higher for the Boss Team. And as if in a quirk of fate, Geese Howard's first opponents are none other than the Kyokugenryu team in a Fight Decades in the Making.

Omake time!

The League of EVIL! -or- You think it wouldn't be here after Marie's Remark?

"Got any fours?" Jedah asked as he looked over the table at Shinnosuke Kagami from "The Last Blade" series.

"Go fish," the avatar of the red Phoenix responded. He took a sip of his beer before looking around at the crowd… the ultimate 'League of Evil', consisting of members from the SNK and Capcom universes, including the Marvel-themed games that sadly shall never be again.

A knock at the door, however, caused them to turn and see Geese Howard walking in. He pulled up a seat and looked around. "Deal me in."

"We're playing 'Go Fish'," Dio Brando said. "We can't 'deal you in', moron."

"Indeed," Demitri Maximoff added. "And you've got some nerve showing your face around here now… how many times have you saved the world from some sort of evil now?"

"Well…" Geese said, grinning and leaning back on his chair, unfortunately tilting it too far and hitting the ground. "I meant to do that," he mumbled as he sat the chair back up. "As I was saying, _you're_ one to talk, Demitri. Weren't YOU the guy that saved Earth from Pyron?" He looked at the vampire, grinning, noticing Demitri was suddenly sweating nervously. "WELL?"

The group suddenly burst out laughing, Demitri slamming his fists on the table as he assumed his true form, pointing accusingly at them all. "How dare you laugh at me! I'm the great and all powerful Demitri Maximoff!"

"That spent 100 years bawling his eyes out over a loss," Geese shot back. The vampire turned to him and growled. "Oh, boo-hoo… the wimpy little vampire that never even got SNK Boss Syndrome."

"Stop it!" Demitri shouted, tears beginning to well up in his eyes. "You know I'm sensitive about that!"

Geese smirked. "Okay everybody, show him your badges."

Suddenly a number of cards were flashed in front of Demitri the words on it saying 'I, (person's name), have been a drastically overpowered opponent used by a gaming company to eat up more quarters at an arcade machine. My attacks have insane priority and range, and I often end up hated by the gaming community.'

Demitri looked at them all, tears streaming down his face until he ran screaming out of the bar, at which point Geese sat down at his spot and took his cards.

"Dio, what were you saying a minute ago about 'not dealing me in'?"


	46. Fight Decades in the Making

A/N: Well, there's quite a shock among readers at the most recent development of the Kyo/Iori/Athena team… but with good reason too. Better buckle up, because '97 is going to be one _hell_ of an intense KoF! Oh… and "Sweet Home" is the BEST NES GAME EVER! Imagine an RPG Resident Evil with supernatural monsters, being able to heal yourself 21 times a game, no guns, and item storage so limited you'll be thanking Capcom for those red boxes which mysteriously could be opened anywhere and have the same items in them.

"Are you sure?" Leona practically shouted into the phone, her hands practically dancing on the keyboard as she quickly completed an e-mail to send to Heidern. The Ikari commander was away, planning something with a fellow mercenary leader… some guy named "Ling", but it was no excuse not to tell him about this.

"100 percent sure," Shermie's voice said on the other end. "It if weren't for the note, you'd almost think this would be any teenage kidnapping."

_Shit shit shit shit shit…_ Leona thought as she took in a deep breath, let it out, and repeated the process two more times to clear her head as best she could. This was bad. Chris was 17… his ability to defend himself wasn't a problem. The problem was if he went overboard and succumbed to the Momentum of Wills and succeeded in doing what neither she nor Sie had managed to, kill Yuki… whatever that would cause.

Leona eventually spoke up again. "The letter said he'd be killed at the next King of Fighters, correct?"

"Yes."

"Good…" Leona felt things might actually work out now… "First of all, we've got some time. I'll fill Ralf in, he's the CO right now, and we've got time until the next tournament. Not as much as I'd hope, but enough to work with. I'll arrange tickets, however, for you and Yashiro to be in shouting distance. Some encouraging words from Chris's family might just be what'll save him if bad goes to worse. Until then, just try to not have a nervous breakdown or anything."

Shermie complied and hung up, leaving Leona to let out a long string of obscenities that would easily take up the rest of the chapter if I had the mind to write them out. But after finally venting out her frustrations… inadvertently causing numerous young children in Brazil to ask their parents about certain words they claimed to have heard from a "female God", Leona finished up her message to Heidern and sent it off. She then forwarded it to Ralf and slumped down on her Spartan bed, exhausted from the stress she had been put under in the past few hours.

"Why the hell to the Orochi people always get the shaft?" she pleaded to nobody in particular. Vice and Mature were still out of it and now this with the Orochi's reincarnation himself. Mother Nature certainly didn't like its protector, or so it seemed.

Getting off her bed and rubbing her eyes, Leona decided the only thing to do was hit the gym and vent all her frustrations out on something or somebody. Next tournament would be utter hell, and she was sure she wouldn't be able to come to the rescue with some Super Saiyan-esque transformation if push came to shove…

But as soon as her fist smashed into a heavy bag, things just seemed a lot harder to worry about. She wasn't in this alone. She had Goenitz and the others backing her up on one end, and she had her family here too. Vice and Mature were okay too… not fantastic, but okay. And Chizuru was going to fill in the third spot on the Girlfriend Team and keep an eye on Shiranui… they were taking all the precautions they could.

Besides, there was a Loser's bracket this time… a safety net if ever one was needed.

* * *

Silence was the only element in the room as Geese, Goenitz, and Maki sat facing each other, the news having reached them.

"This is not good," Maki eventually declared. "We're going to have to be on our guard… big time."

"What's Yuki's condition, anyways?" Geese asked.

Goenitz shook his head. "Conscious, but weak… she's going to be a sitting duck if things turn sour…"

"Then…" Geese announced as he stood up, taking a long sigh realizing how close the Boss Team would need to push the envelope, "We're going to need to give it our all…"

"Then let's get to it," Goenitz answered.

* * *

By now, Yuki Kushinida's hospital room had countless decorations in it, get well cards, good luck charms, anything and everything all her friends could do to lend their support. Just as the doctors had suspected, the only thing keeping her from fully recovering was time, and even that was slowly being whiled away. It wouldn't be too much longer until she could walk and just be another ordinary girl again, the only permanent reminder of the whole ordeal being the small scar on her left breast, caused during Yamizaki's attempt to kill her.

A visitor caused her to snap back into the conscious world, and she looked up to see Athena there, smiling at her.

"You know, one day you're going to have to cut that hair of yours," Yuki teased.

Athena looked at her seriously and crossed for a moment before smirking. "Nah… I'll never cut it…" She pulled up a seat as Yuki sat herself upright, resting against the back of her bed. The friendliness that had existed mere seconds before suddenly was gone, both of them trying to find the right words.

Eventually, Yuki spoke up. "I heard you and Kyo are on the same team this year."

It was supposed to mean more than that, Yuki and Athena knew that. After a few moments, the Japan Team member answered. "Yes… when you were injured I tried to help him… get over the pain. He really felt terrible he couldn't protect you at all and-"

"So you were comforting him," Yuki responded. Athena nodded and Yuki smiled, relieved. "Kyo is a very special person to me, I'm glad he wants to be with somebody I view as a close friend… I know he'll be happy."

"You really mean it, Yuki?"

"Of course I do," Yuki answered back, "And besides… I'd never forgive myself if every time I stub my toe Kyo falls into some pit of despair. Just… just take care of him no matter what, Athena."

Athena reached out and held Yuki's hand, surprised at the warmth of it, "I promise you that."

No more words were necessary, they had the potential of ruining a perfectly good understanding. So Athena just left, both girls knowing exactly what had happened, and what was meant by it…

But each one did not know a particular something on the other's mind. And those two things would later bring about horrible, horrible tragedies.

* * *

Again, the King of Fighters would span the globe, and the teams were ready for the biggest fights of their lives… some knowing the true situation at hand. Others were more preoccupied with just trying to make the Loser's Bracket work to their advantage, and in the shadows, a young man still angsting over the loss of his hat and it's role in the name of his nemesis's bodyguard's team who was planning things later into the future as well.

However, it wasn't until a particular envelope slid into the Howard residence's mailbox two days before their first match that Geese discovered who the Boss Team's first opponents would be… a revelation that sent Lilly Kane jumping for joy.

"You sure you two will get here in time?" Geese asked Goenitz and Maki over the phone, the latter two inside an airport preparing to get on their flight.

"Yeah," Goenitz answered. "We were looking around for Chizuru… forgot she took a later flight."

"Anyways…" Geese answered, "It's going to be an tense meeting, I mean…"

"Ah… is the big bad Geese suddenly unable to speak up about his past misgivings?" There was a humorous tone to the remark, one Geese really couldn't understand.

"Quetz… one of these days I'm gonna-"

"Oops… that's our plane. We gotta run Geese…"

The phone went dead, Geese hanging it up and sitting down at the dining room. Not surprisingly, his first thoughts were of the Kyokugen Team… those people he had fought so viciously when he really wasn't much older than Ryo… more or less two years. Of course, he could understand them now… he had a family too.

"Worried?"

Geese looked up to see Lilly standing there, hands behind her back, just looking every part _not_ a Hakkyokusieken expert and slowly but surely becoming Geese's equal. "No… but I saw you overjoyed earlier over this fight… does it really mean that much to you?"

"Of course!" Lilly answered. "True… you're not going to be fighting Takuma… but it's still a fight to test how you've changed! Think about it… if the Geese Howard of 1977 saw the Geese Howard of 1997, what would be the first thing he would do?"

"Obvious… laugh at him for being a loser before attacking him and getting stopped by an Atami Nage…"

"Exactly, Geese!" Lilly said as if it was the most obvious thing in the Universe. "Just by the fact your fighting style is so much different is a testament of how you've changed. Instead of just smashing through everybody and calling them worthless, you wait for them to do something stupid before calling them worthless! At that point, you're completely justified!"

"Lilly… I've been a terrible influence on you, haven't I?"

"You'd be surprised, sir," she said. "Anyways… I've got a class to teach, so I'll see you soon."

* * *

Ryo and Robert exchanged a furious round of punches and kicks, neither one flinching as they hammered each other left and right. The match would be difficult, but they knew that Kyokugenryu could overcome most things… Geese Howard and his two associates would be no exception.

Finally, with two perfectly timed Haoh-Sho-Koh-Kens that blasted into each other, the battle ended. Ryo and Robert were smashed into opposite sides of the ring, completely exhausted.

Lying flat on their backs and staring up at the ceiling, hearing the doors open as a number of other Kyokugenryu students peeked in, Yuri included.

"Think we're good enough?" Ryo asked.

Robert smirked. "Definitely. We're gonna give Geese hell!"

* * *

The sun rose early that day, Geese performing a few light exercises before having a warm breakfast with his wife and son. Afterwards, he went into his room and opened up his special wardrobe… fifteen hakamas, each one with a different design on the bottom. Eventually Geese settled on one he had recently ordered, with a light-blue pleated skirt and the design of a falcon on the back of the shirt.

A goose wouldn't have been intimidating.

As he turned around, he saw Marie and Rock standing there, his son wearing the hat he had stolen from Terry what seemed to be ages ago.

"Looking good in that," Geese said, nodding in approval.

"Stand strong today, Geese," Marie said. "I know you'll do fine."

The Howard patriarch walked by them, standing proud. At the front gate, Quetz and Maki were already waiting, Geese walking off with them.

* * *

"So you really have no relationship with King?" Chizuru asked as she sat down at a bench talking with Duck King. Her other teammates were elsewhere in the bar, the kickboxer just making sure that Sally and Elizabeth (A/N: note the "z" instead of an "s"… not Blanctorche) knew exactly what to do. Mai, however, was in a corner, fiddling with something Chizuru couldn't get a good view of.

The musician laughed. "For the last time, _no._ Besides… only met her a few years ago anyways… I provide the entertainment, she serves the drinks. A one-two punch that not even the Pao Pao Café matches."

"At least not in terms of colorfulness," Chizuru pointed out, causing the disk jockey to look at her in a funny way.

"Whatever… I've got a few things to wrap up before our match against the Japan Team…" Mai said as she stood up and sauntered out, King and Chizuru looking at her in silence.

"Think she's going to do something stupid?" Chizuru asked her teammate. The Frenchwoman nodded.

"I've been waiting for that for four years."

* * *

The audience was hyped up, cheering and looking forward for their first time to see the legendary Geese Howard fight right before their eyes in the location that had once been called the Howard Area. With the second and third members of Team Kyokugenryu waiting in opposite sides of the interior, Geese and Robert approached each other in the center.

"My Kyokugen is a lot more powerful this time around…"

"I noticed," Geese answered back. "You're getting the hang of that move that made me piss my pants way back when. I won't fall for the same attack again," Geese answered. The two men walked away from each other to their corners of the ring… the faint wind blowing against one's hakama and the other's tailor-made Italian outfit with the best fibers for fighting in.

Then they charged, Geese kicking out and spinning on the balls of his feet into a roundhouse that send Robert careening to the edge of the arena. Garcia didn't spend much time on the recoil, however, and sprang back into action, firing off a pair of Koah-Kens before jumping to his right, a flurry of Ressatsus tearing through his attack. Before Geese could recover, however, Robert continued his charge and punched him numerous times in the chest and face, stopping just as Geese managed to throw up an Atami Nage guard.

Robert waited until that moment to unleash a point-blank Haoh-Shi-Koh-Ken… still needing a lot of work, but an impressive move nonetheless. Unfortunately, Geese backflipped into the air and fired off a Shippuken, using the inertia of the attack to shove him out of the blast radius just in time before kicking Robert in the gut.

The slightly younger man hunched over from the pain, and Geese grinned. A Raging Storm sent Robert flying, and as he fell, Geese's hand lashed out and grabbed his ankle, throwing him up into the air again from the Shinkuu Nage, another Ressatsu nailing him in the chest.

Robert hit the ground hard, but Geese wasn't surprised to see him get back to his feet and dust himself off without much trouble. Kyokugenryu was made of sterner stuff after all… Ryo's little sister had survived quite the beating from Iori with no permanent damage whatsoever…

"I'm thinking the difference in our power is a lot smaller this time around…" Robert said cheerfully.

Geese groaned and shook his head. "Please… _please_ don't do the 'I have yet to begin to fight' or 'you call that an attack' speech…"

"Oh," Robert said as he charged again, "If you already know that then… I guess all I have to say is RYUKO RANBU!"

Geese smirked at the thought and charged as well. "You're asking for it! Deadly… RAAAAAVVVVEEEE!"

The two over-the-top barrages of punches and kicks began, Robert and Geese hammering each other before Robert thrust his hands out. There was the slight glimmer of a Koah-Ken coming into existence but Geese wouldn't have anything of it, slamming his fists together as a gigantic blue burst of energy smashed into Robert, knocking him out of the ring and slamming him into a wall. His eyes were wide in shock as he fell to the ground, his body barely moving afterwards.

"Just because," Geese explained to the unconscious Garcia, "I used the Ryuko Ranbu for inspiration doesn't mean I didn't make my own alterations to the attack."

The audience clapped madly as the door opened up, Ryo stepping out and looking straight at Geese before looking over at Robert.

"Don't worry," Geese answered, "He's perfectly fine. Hit like a tank too… that Wyler idiot must've been a total pansy."

Ryo hid his fear from the world as he stared at Geese. The bastard had just taken down his best friend with only a few rips to his hakama and a few bruises here or there. No matter what, Ryo _knew_ he'd take Geese down… it wasn't like before. This was a different Geese, his actions over the past few years proved that. However, there was still the principle of the matter… for Ryo to finally silence the demons nagging at him.

"Okay Geese… I think it's about time I show you that the Raging Tiger can chew his way through any goose."

"It's _Geese_, nitwit," Howard snapped.

They charged.

* * *

Mai smirked devilishly as she slid through an air vent, the sounds of the battle between Geese and the second fighter on the Kyokugenryu team surpassing all except for the racket of the vent itself and the roar of the audience.

She casually below, making sure she was in position before putting a small device in nearby the opening and turning it on. Quickly taking a big breath, she slid away, grinning at the thought.

Rot in hell, Boss Team, Mai thought as she slid away as fast as she could. Explosives could be traced back to somebody… justified fingerpointing would naturally come back to her. 

But one hundred percent all-natural neurotoxins? That was something the coroners would be scratching their heads over for at least a half a century.

* * *

As Terry again and again read through the Cheng's notes on the Jin Scrolls, as well as look at the one remaining scroll he had, he suddenly grinned.

"The Yuudaimu?" he said, finally beginning to piece a few parts of the puzzle together…

And the further he went into it, the more he wanted to find out.

A/N: Geese Howard is finally getting his wish, to battle honestly and shamelessly against the members of the Kyokugenryu Team. But his longtime nemeses are all planning his downfall and soon-coming death. And in the meantime, various other teams begin their own battles too… Iori and Kyo fighting together with Flames United.


	47. Flames United

A/N: Okay, sorry I haven't updated it yet, but it's time to remedy that! Thus, on with the show!

"You know… we really should consider moving the base somewhere else… or at least not have everything located _right here_," Leona said as she and Heidern strolled across the airfield, the chopper with Team Fatal Fury nearing with each passing second.

"Why not?" her adoptive father asked. "I mean, there are plenty of other mercenary organizations around… the Ikaris are only well-known since we've been entering the KoF. It boosts business too."

"But what if there was like an attack or something?"

Heidern chuckled and shook his head. A few tears welled up from his eyes, but he answered quickly and naturally. "Say if there _was_ one? We certainly have a lot of manpower… plus Ralf and Clark… so think about it? If somebody were to attack us… don't you'd think we'd fend them off or something?"

"Good point… and the survivors would most likely have some information to squeal out," Leona answered. "Risk versus reward…"

"It's the way life works, I'm sure your other 'family' understands that too. And speaking of them-"

"Their affairs don't interfere with the Ikaris, do they?"

"Of course not," Heidern answered, "But I understand the value of family, and I expect that should a situation of that nature occur, you try to steer clear of involving yourself. Of course, that's not saying you shouldn't fight and publicly humiliate the bodyguard of the best friend of another Serpent God. Clear?"

Leona turned to him and saluted. "Crystal."

"Good, now-"

"CROSS CHANGER!"

They turned to see Ralf and Clark performing various stupid poses a few hundred meters away… adoptive father and daughter of them looking on in mortal horror.

"There is no God," Heidern whispered as he walked away, his face soaked with ice-cold sweat. "Best of luck salvaging your sanity for the opening round…"

* * *

Geese and Ryo stared opposite of each other, preparing their opening moves. The arena was quiet enough to hear their slight breathing… and then suddenly they went at it. Ryo flung himself at Geese, punching down but only into the stone arena floor as Geese jumped away, kicking at the ground to slam back into Ryo.

The Raging Tiger countered with a Koah-Ken blast, but Geese countered with a Double Reppuken, the first blast negating Ryo's technique and the other shooting straight at him afterwards. Ryo quickly sprang into the air, spreading his legs as the attack just _barely_ passed underneath, and then rocketed forward with a flurry of aerial kicks, stopping just as Geese was throwing up an Atami Nage.

He immediately dropped to the ground and then shot up, an uppercut smashing into Geese's chin and sending the slightly older man flying. Geese landed in a skid, but rolled back to his feet and cracked his neck.

"It seems like only last year since I was wiping the floor with you," Geese spat.

"One year, one month, and a couple of weeks," Ryo shot back, suddenly wondering why he had said that.

But it was true… or at least in spirit. Yet Geese and Ryo stood against each other in 1997 closer in strength than they had before… to be fair, Geese was still feeling the ache from Robert's Ryuko Ranbu… he worried if Ryo's would be just as fierce.

But they could at least discard all thoughts about evil bids for power or somebody blackmailing somebody else's father into service by holding that that father's daughter captive, inadvertently forcing the father's son as well the son's best friend to go through Southtown and beat up a bunch of people with less than a proper "WHERE THE HELL IS MY SISTER/GIRLFRIEND, DAMMIT!"

This was just a fight… not exactly between friends, but far from being against enemies.

Ryo dodged to the side as Geese sent out a flurry of Ressatsus, holding his arms to his chest before finishing the roll on one knee, a Haoh-Sho-Koh-Ken blasting out. Geese expelled it quickly, his hand slamming into the ground in front of him and unleashing a Mighty Raging Storm, but Ryo came through just as the attack was fading away.

"RYUKO RAN-" Ryo started… but he never finished.

The first punch was caught literally _before_ Ryo had even moved to strike, Geese grinned as he slammed Ryo into the pavement and blasted him away with a Raging Storm.

"Predictable…"

But as Ryo rolled away and suddenly sprang up, Geese's eyes went wide.

"OH SHIT!"

The Hakkyokusieken master quickly flung himself sideways to evade the dreaded Haoh-Shi-Koh-Ken, stopping himself as soon as he was out of the blast-range so as to not fall victim to Ryo's carefully planned trap of sending a Koah-Ken out _just_ where he had expected Geese to end up.

With a few scant seconds to attack, Geese flung himself at Ryo and punched him straight in the head. The Kyokugenryu fighter staggered back after the first strike, but Geese pressed the offensive, backhanding him across the face and kicking right above Ryo's knee.

In more than just a slight daze but still able to think lucid enough to fight back, Ryo grabbed Geese by his hakama shirt and flung him into the air. He shot up into the air immediately afterwards, raising a fist for his Ko-Hou uppercut.

Geese saw the move coming, but his techniques he could use in the air were tragically limited… thankfully, he still had an ace up his sleeve.

Geese brought his hands together, blue sphere of energy gathering up in between them, "DOUBLE SHIPPU-"

Ryo's punch hit. The sphere faltered. Geese felt the air literally be squeezed out of his lungs. That was going to leave a mark in the morning…

But he couldn't lose now. "KEN!"

The sphere regained its luminescence, slamming into Ryo. Geese quickly streamlined his body so as to land first, timing a roundhouse kick perfectly to connected into Ryo and slam him into the wall not far from where Robert was.

_Two down…_ he thought, struggling to catch his breath and watching Yuri Sakazaki step into view, _One to go…_

* * *

Andy clenched his fist joyously as he saw who the Rival Team was set to battle against in their opening round… the team which, officially was the "Benimaru Team", was forever going to be known as the "Sidekick Team".

And he could at long last exact his revenge against Benimaru after that damnable Neo Electrigger incident last year. Then, the Rival Team would face either the Girlfriend Team or the Japan Team, whoever won their match. If the former did, Andy could rest easy and have a friendly spar match with Mai, and have make-up sex with her afterwards in case anything went sour.

But if the _latter_ won, that meant he could then overcome Yagami, and with what Mai had planned, Geese Howard's whole team would be dead within the hour… Howard most likely wouldn't get through the Loser's bracket all on his own… he was good but not that good. And thus, the great legend of Geese Howard, a man who had ruined his life all due to a single decision, would have his goose shot and go down in flames in this King of Fighters.

"Andy, are you done masturbating the bathroom yet?" Eiji barked as he banged on the door. "You need to get your lazy, angsty, Shiranui ass off the toilet since we have a match in an hour, dammit!"

Andy hesitantly complied… fantasizing about seeing Geese as a broken man was the most beautiful image in his mind… (A/N: yes, even counting Mai) he wanted to savor it. After that, he stepped out to his less-stupid teammate who was wearing casual clothes.

"Why I put up with you two is beyond me," Eiji muttered as he and Andy headed off to meet Kim.

"Because my brother pays the bills?"

"Good point."

* * *

"I keep telling you, you need to learn to Guard Cancel already!" Sie shouted as he and Shingo continued to argue as they played Street Fighter Alpha 3.

"It's too pointless!" Shingo answered. "Listen, just set me up with Cammy and I'll be fine!"

"Cammy?" Sie asked as he looked at him. "You play as a girl?"

"WHAT?" Shingo said nervously, "She's hot!"

"She's sixteen in the game… pedophile…"

"Listen, will you two just actually _prep_ for the match already?" Benimaru shouted from behind the television that Sie and Shingo were using. To be fair, he was actually carrying it on his back, using his unique and accidental powers of electromagnetism to force to two to chase after him. It was unorthodox, but Benimaru had felt it was an apt means of getting the two into peak condition…

… Until he realized how heavy the damn thing was. Of course… it was training anyways, so Beni had put up with it.

With a weak sigh, Shingo and Sie complied, turning the device off so Beni could loosen up. He turned and let out a relieved sigh, flexing his muscles before looking at the younger members of his team. The fight would be hard… but Beni knew it wouldn't be impossible…

Plus there was just one thing Beni wanted more than any other this year… a rematch with Kyo. They had saved each other's asses a lot in the fights, the fights against Rugal, as well as the necessity of Benimaru's electrical powers to finally stop Heidern coming to mind. Yet there was always Benimaru's remembrance of his defeat by Kyo before the KoF '94.

No matter how bad the team did… Beni would be happy if he just got the chance to see if he really could be Kyo in a fight.

Here was hoping…

* * *

"Koah-Ken!"

"Reppuken!"

Projectiles clashed as Geese used the slightly longer time Yuri needed to recover in order to launch his offensive. Those three really had improved by leaps and bounds since the last time he had fought them.

Geese was quickly in front of Yuri, slapping her left and right with a few well-timed punches. She countered as Geese tried a Raging Storm, however, by jumping up in the air and flinging down a Koah-Ken immediately. It caught Geese, who staggered back from the accumulated damage he'd gathered in the fight, and Yuri landed immediately.

"HAOH-SHO-KOH-KEN!"

The attack shot straight at Geese, who didn't take a step back from facing it. He knew what he was about to do would _hurt_… but it would give him a clear shot to take down Yuri and finish this thing.

A Ressatsu blasted a small hole in it, which Geese grabbed quickly with his hands…

And ripped the blast in twain. He charged at the surprised Yuri, punching out… but the drain of the act had been a little more than Geese had thought. He felt like he was punching slowly through water, Yuri ducking down.

There was a split second where Geese looked down, staring at Yuri face to face… the memories of how he and Kyokugenryu became involved flashing before his eyes, wondering if this was just how things were supposed to be.

And then time resumed as usual.

"YURI CHOU REPPA! CHOU REPPA! CHOU REPPA! CHOU REPPA! CHOU REPPA! CHOU REPPA!"

Five sequential uppercuts, completely uninhibited, plowed into Geese. With the last one, the Hakkyokusieken master was sent flying up in the air, hitting the ground hard. He didn't get up.

Yuri, panting and trying to catch her breath, blinked as she looked at the scoreboard. Had it really-

_Winner: Yuri Sakazaki…_

It was official.

She, Robert, and Ryo together had beaten Geese Howard. Too bad either of his teammates would just stroll out now and tip her over with a nudge.

Yet, for some odd reason, that wasn't happening… Yuri confused as to why not?

After five minutes of relative silence, a referee stepped out and nervously pulled out a piece of paper. By now, Ryo, Robert, and Geese were starting to regain their senses.

"Due to the Corporate Boss Team's lack of sending out either of their remaining members, I must admit this match will go to Team Kyokugen!"

Yuri couldn't believe what she was hearing, and as Ryo and Robert staggered over to her, they were pretty surprised too. She sprang into Robert's hand, overjoyed at the results as a voice caused them all turn around.

"Ah-_hem…_" It was Geese, standing there, battered and bruised, but looking at all three of them. "Bravo, all three of you. You've grown up a lot since… then…" He walked off, not hearing Ryo's answer.

* * *

"Okay," Mary and Billy said as they watched from the stadium to Lilly, "Next year, right?"

Lilly turned to them, completely baffled. "What are you smoking? Geese hasn't fought Takuma yet! You think I'm gonna forget about _that_ fight? That's the one I'm really waiting for!"

Both bodyguard and detective facefaulted onto the hard bleachers as Lilly shook her head and sighed.

"You people are crazy, you know that?"

The stadium quickly cleared out, however, due to the second match scheduled in Southtown, where four-time tournament champion Kyo Kusanagi and his new team would be facing off against the Girlfriend Team. As been decided by the captains, the fight would be 3-on-3 simultaneous.

The two teams stepped out onto the field, Kyo facing opposite of King, Athena staring at Mai, and Iori recognizing the young woman he was now looking directly at.

"You're the girl from the bar…" he said, surprised to see Chizuru there.

Chizuru shrugged. "You bet. And I finally can show you it would've been smart to be on _my_ team."

The two teams went at it, all of them colliding into one central point where all hell broke loose. Chizuru and Iori almost slid along the ground into each other, preparing for open-handed strikes. Athena quickly reflected a flurry of fans from Mai, and lastly Kyo and King were tested which technique would win the day, the Surprise Rose or the Oni Yaki.

And then… the Girlfriend team essentially froze in time as Athena channeled up every single ounce of her psychic power to block them it. It only lasted three seconds, but for those three seconds, Mai, Chizuru, and King were utterly helpless.

And then they saw what Iori was prepping. In his hands was a sphere of purple flames which he slammed into the ground just as those three seconds were up, a gigantic well of purple flames blasting all three of them. The Ya Sakazuki did its job, inflicting minimal damage but restraining Mai, Chizuru, and King.

And then it was Kyo's turn, his entire body burning with crimson flames, the Orochinagi building up to levels never before imagined…

"EAT…" he shouted, pulling back for the strike, "**_THIS!_**"

The proceeding wave of fire was potent, that was for sure. Mai, Chizuru, and King all hit the ground with a thud… Iori walking over to them and grinning.

"No cure for stupidity, bitches," he remarked as he walked away.

WHAM!

He staggered back, seeing that Kyo and Athena were just as surprised to see their three opponents somehow on their feet with nary an injury… courtesy of perfectly-timed Yata Mirror illusions.

"Tough luck," Chizuru chuckled, "Didn't see that one coming… did you?"

Iori snorted as he called up his purple flames again, "You think you can really go the whole nine yards against us? Well bring it on."

* * *

Chris stared at the woman in front of him without flinching… which was rather easy actually since that riding crop of hers apparently wasn't used for S&M purposes. They were in a building, Chris didn't know where.

"You really think that?" Elisabeth said dryly, raising an eyebrow.

Chris nodded. "Yeah… I understand what you're trying to do… it seemed rather obvious from the get go… If you wanted me dead, you would've done it and just dangled my body around at the KoF's opening ceremony. You're using me as bait, aren't you?"

A/N: Geese's team has tragically been bumped down to the Loser's Bracket… and his team will be slated to confront either the Girlfriend or the Japan team in a heated battle. In the meantime, the other two opening matches will begin, and there will be battles aplenty, with the showcasing of the Lone Needle.


	48. Lone Needle

A/N: Well, today begins my most ambitious struggle… I'm going to be in D.C. for the first part of next week, and to make it up to you all, I'm going to try to update later this week. Oh, and before I forget… which I accidentally did before I posted this initially, go and check out Darth Riven's "Endgame: KoF XII" fanfic. It's pretty good but I've been the only person reviewing it. I know how it can be when people don't review a story you work on a lot, so please, take a look at it for him and voice your opinion.

Geese: Yeah, like you'll get another chapter done in three days.

Keep that up Geese… you might lose your next match too.

Geese/Maki/Goenitz: LSN, YOU BASTARD!

Chizuru fell back as Iori clawed at her, and the split-second glance that she could afford showed her Mai and King were not fairing that well either. If it was any saving grace, her biking jacket and her usual outfit didn't get in the way of maneuvering… Chizuru could never picture her fighting in one of those priestess robes.

She struck out quickly, catching Iori once in the jaw. The tall man stumbled back a single step but kicked out again. Chizuru barely dodged in time by ducking, and she immediately shot up into the air, using her Yata powers to generate a copy that hammered Iori with an open-palm smash as it shot into the air.

Iori, growling in frustration, sent streams of purple flame straight at Chizuru, who took the attack metaphorically on the chin. She couldn't believe how much of a difference there was between her strength and Yagami's… she honestly couldn't.

_But…_ she thought, _his strength _does_ partially stem from the Yasakani Magatama, and _that _means…_ she pulled herself back and then shot forward, throwing Iori off by having a copy appear in the air to attack from above. Iori fell for the trick, and was rewarded with getting hit in the chest by Chizuru's left index finger. The force of the hit, however, seemed gravely unrealistic, and as Iori slid back, trying almost desperately to catch his breath, he looked at the grinning Chizuru.

"Told you so," she taunted.

Iori shook his head before standing upright. He let out a single short laugh before clenching his fist and grinning. "You think so, babe? EAT THIS!" He performed the necessary motion for a Yami Barai, but was dumbfounded as no flames came out… just in time for a double of Chizuru to pound into him with graceful hand strikes. Iori rolled away, growling at Chizuru and getting back to his feet.

"Aw… Mr. Badass lost his flames… not to mention his team's going to lose in the opening round, _again_," Chizuru taunted.

"You're dead crazy to think I can't win… with the emphasis on dead," Iori snapped back. Chizuru's next illusion was ripped in half, literally, and before she knew it, Iori was right in front of her. "Hiya, _bitch_."

He grabbed Chizuru by the throat, slamming her into the ground before pounding into her numerous times, grinning as his flames came back to him.

"Showtime! BURN, BABY!" He slammed his hands into Chizuru, blasting her with purple flames and out of the arena as he turned to see Kyo and Athena taking on their opponents as well. Mai was on her last ropes against Athena, the psychic was just as acrobatic in her techniques and could match pyrokinetics with psychokintetics.

Iori smiled as he saw her teammate slam her fist into an off-guard Mai's face and then spring up in the air only to shoot down in a ball of pure psychic fury, blowing Mai away soundly…

And then there was Kyo. As he battled against King, Kyo showed significant focus, trying his best to keep up with King's lightning-fast kicks. Iori himself had to hesitantly admit he couldn't do any better in that part of the fight, the kickboxer had improved by leaps and bounds… probably the second strongest woman in the world, trailing only behind Athena.

Then again, he knew nothing of the female Hakkyokusieken master in the stands, who suddenly had reminded her brother and Mary they had a match to get to or else poor Joe would have a rude awakening once the chopper set down in Brazil.

Iori had never seen two people run so fast in their life…

* * *

"It's a shame…" Kyo said as he countered King's Venom Strike with a stream of flames, "that your team always ends up losing so early on and everything… you really don't deserve it."

"Are you kidding?" King answered back, grinning at her younger opponent. "I'm just waiting until Miss Ulterior Motives gets the boot before I seriously start focusing on the title."

"That so?" Kyo asked. "So you holding out or anything?"

King shook her head. "Nah, just enjoying the fight. Don't need the money, since just showing up is free publicity and everything soooo…" She kicked at his head. He ducked. She looked down, only to see Kyo's hands burning.

"OROCHINAGI!"

* * *

One burning wave of destruction later, the Japan Team had been announced the winner, Chizuru and King taking their loss in stride as they walked off, Mai just a little behind them. Upon the former two heading off to the stands, one to watch her sister's match in the Loser's bracket, the other to cheer on her boyfriend, Mai looked around.

"Okay, come out."

As if by magic, two Shiranui ninjas came into view, one a man, one a woman.

"They dead?"

The woman nodded. "Bodies disposed of in the incinerator."

"Howard?"

"Exhausted from his fight against Kyokugenryu… able to stand on his feet and talk a good game, but nothing else."

She smiled. "Bogard?"

"Tuned in and watching it live."

_Perfect_, Mai thought as she walked away, clenching her fist proudly. After a little bit of Shiranui manipulation of the brackets, Mai was glad that even though the Kyokugenryu Team and the Japan Team were separated in the initial bracket, meaning that they would only face each other in case they got to the finals… the losers of those matches would be facing off right away.

Geese probably was having the bombshell dropped on him right now, and scrambling to find his missing teammates. Poor, _poor_ Geese.

Mai walked back out into the arena for the first match of the Loser's bracket, checking to make sure her fans were sharpened.

This would be fun…

* * *

"Whew!" King sighed as she sat down in a box reserved for combatants, the victorious Team Kyokugen sitting there together. "Well… you look all happy!"

"Naturally," Robert answered. There were bumps and bruises all around, but thankfully nothing truly terrible as the referee announced the next match.

"And now… for the first round of the Loser's bracket…" he announced.

The audience went silenced. This _wasn't_ how it had been laid out for all of them… and King looked around, confused… Chizuru was relaxing in another box alone… but where was Mai?

King's blood ran cold instantly. To speed up the fights, the Loser's bracket was designed so only one member of each team actually fought… usually the one that decided to do so. And the only team, other than hers, that had just lost, that was now in the bracket was…

Geese's team.

Walking out, the Howard patriarch certainly seemed to be putting on a strong face, but the damage to his hakama enabled the spectators to see the detailed, authentic bruises and scrapes to his body.

"So… ready to die?" Mai asked as she opened her fans. This would be quick and painless… for her.

Geese shook his head. "I'm not going to lose her. Instead, I'm going to give you the public humiliation that I thought that detective handed you soundly in '93. Best of all…" Geese smiled, "Take a look who's watching with your teammate… _my sister…_"

The illusion ended, the flawless reproduction of Geese fading away to reveal the imposing sight of Maki Kagura. Mai suddenly looked up to see Geese and Goenitz in that box with Chizuru, holding up a series of signs… a direct reference to that insulting song Mai had heard upon losing in '93.

_Screw it… you're not even number _two_ in Japan!_

The audience was again knocked speechless by this turnaround, and the referee was looking rather shaken too. Maki turned to him and shrugged. "Start the match already." Before waiting for the word, however, Mai struck, slashing down with her fans.

Maki saw them coming a mile away, jumping away a few steps and then kicking Mai in the face. "Did you like our little conversation about ten minutes ago?" Maki asked as she gracefully danced around Mai's every strike. Punch, kick, slash, fire wave, flying elbow, nothing whatsoever connected. "You probably think you had us down dead, didn't you? Really, we hadn't shown up to help Geese just because he wanted to settle things with Kyokugenryu on his own."

Mai opened her mouth to respond, but a mistimed lunge resulted in Maki sidestepping, grabbing Mai by the throat, and then angling a kick into her back. Hitting the ground and slowly getting up, Mai answered. "I… _had_ been pretty confident about that… but your illusions can't do much else can they?" She stood up to Maki, ready for round two.

Maki shrugged. "Oh, you haven't seen anything yet. For instance, I'm willing to bet you at least sparred once with my sister. You think you got my moves _all planned out_, right?" She began casually walking around Mai, letting the suspense do the dirty work. Suddenly a copy appeared in front of her, jumping at Mai and slashing down with an open-hand chop. The illusion cut her twice, once on the cheek, the other in the middle of the chest.

Mai staggered back as copious amounts of blood somehow fell down her body. "Wha-"

"That's just the tip of the iceberg," Maki answered as she snapped a finger, the blood gushing down in torrents as another copy attacked her. "The Choumon no Isshin, literally meaning 'The Lone Needle at the Gates of a Peak'… Chizuru's is nothing but a pale imitator."

Mai looked down in horror. It was all in her head… it had to be… but she felt the blood in her hands, suddenly she felt cuts to her breasts, and her eyes went wide in sheer, complete, _utter horror_ as countless fans fell from them onto the ground.

"So _that's_ where you hide them all," Maki answered as Mai was transfixed with fear. Was this all just coming from one woman? This was madness… sheer madness. Impossible… the fans were forming a large pile, already at her knees.

"No… no… no… no… no…" Mai suddenly began chanting. Could she even believe what was in front of her? Sight failed her, hearing did, her sense of touch couldn't be trusted anymore… she…

One punch later… one strike of pure, blunt-force trauma later, the fight was over. The illusions ended, Mai slamming into a brick wall, hitting the ground, and not getting up. Almost before the conclusion was announced, Maki was declared the winner.

* * *

King smiled at the sudden turn of events and smiled when Yuri shouted out happily.

"So… are you finally just going to kick her off the team?" Ryo asked, looking at her and raising an eyebrow.

King nodded before leaning forward and kissing him. "Obviously."

* * *

"I'm telling you, they'll be here!" Joe said nervously as Ralf, Clark, and Leona tapped their feet impatiently. "Really!"

Leona shook her head, sighing. "Fine. You know what? We'll start this, traditional 3 sets of 1-on-1 matches. Obviously, you're going to be fighting first, so…" She stepped out, quickly doing a few stretches. Afterwards, she looked up at Joe. "Ready? Good."

Ralf and Clark quickly backed up as Leona dashed at Joe, slashing out with her hands quickly, the resulting gashes on the kickboxer's arms a taste of things to come.

_Dammit, she's maybe the toughest person I've ever fought! _Joe thought as he was forced onto the defensive, dodging Leona's swift clawings as best he could. Through it all, however, he couldn't find a single opening, and he couldn't win if he just kept his guard up… _Then do something like Lilly would,_ Joe thought. In his rare sparring matches with his girlfriend, Joe noted although Lilly did use a form of the Atami Nage, it's execution was entirely different. And since Leona had never fought, probably never even _met_ Lilly…

Leona horizontally chopped at Joe's head, the Japanese fighter throwing up his arms as best he could. Leona wasn't surprised when the defensive ploy lessened the impact, although it did cause Joe to be turned around…

Too bad for Leona that Joe just kept spinning a full 360, crouching down before sending out a brutally fast tornado which knocked Leona back in surprise.

"I call it the Counter Upper," Joe answered as Leona charged again. The same trick wouldn't work twice, at least not right away, so Joe let a Tiger Kick fly. As predicted, Leona managed to swerve out of the way. Joe reacted as fast as he could, grabbing Leona by the neck and spinning around. A Tiger Knee to the back slammed into her, the young Ikari wincing in pain as a flurry of punches hammered her.

A fierce roundhouse kick later, Leona was hitting the ground. She got back to her feet, however, much to Joe's surprise, and raised her arms up for another round.

"Jeez… what makes you tick?" Joe complained, looking down at the cuts on his arms. The bandages he put on his arms anyways for fights helped keep the bloodloss minimal, but he really was surprised at Leona's determination. She really knew how to fight.

Leona answered with a projectile cutter. Joe promptly ducked and rolled forward and then charged. Leona stood waiting for him, and sure enough, he didn't turn around to see her little cutter spinning back. Her hands were already on a few explosives, and upon seeing the goofy look on Joe's face as the attack hit, she charged. Her hands shot out, ready for the finishing blow, and Joe barely had time to regain his vision to see Leona charging at him. First she stabbed into Joe's gut just enough to place the explosives in there, and now all she had to do was actually have Mr. Higashi go boom. And best of all, he really didn't look like he could even see straight.

Then again, he'd seen her fights before on television, so she knew what was coming. Metaphorically walking a tightrope, Joe grabbed out with his hand, catching Leona's by the wrist and doing his best to push her back as his right arm flexed and pulled back for another uppercut.

Leona saw what was about to happen well in advance, so she tried her best to overpower Joe, but in the meantime, Joe just grinned through blurry vision.

"SCREW UPPER!"

The gigantic tornado hit Leona full on, and Joe, literally on his last legs, shot up in the air with another Tiger Knee, this one connecting with Leona's chin and sending her hitting the ground hard.

The two landed, Leona forcefully and without any grace whatsoever, Joe thinking it was just a miracle he was somehow on his feet. But more importantly… Team Fatal Fury was still in this.

Ralf stepped up to fight, looking around as another helicopter came into view, quickly arriving as Mary and Billy jumped out and landing.

"You guys are _SO DEAD!_" Joe shouted before collapsing on the ground too.

* * *

As the Rival and Benimaru Teams faced each other, they weighed their options as two who would fight who. Eventually, however, the two teams fighting in Osaka looked at each other, Andy and Benimaru exchanging glances before announcing in unison "1-on-1 continuous."

Kim confidently stepped out first, almost laughing as soon as Shingo did the same. The kid dressed like Kusanagi… probably didn't know the first thing about fighting either.

"You're crazy, you know that?" Kim stated, doing a few kicks to warm up. "You won't last five seconds against me."

Shingo seemed, however, more focused on just taking a deep breath and getting his thoughts together than answering. After tightening his headband, Shingo then looked at him and dropped into a fighting stance.

"Hmph… ready?" Shingo nodded "GOOD!"

Kim lunged right away, sending out a flurry of kicks immediately and forcing Shingo on the retreat. Yet when Kim tried to slide into Shingo's legs for a swift knock-down, he found himself on the receiving end of two flying kicks to the face, followed by Shingo clumsily falling flat on his face onto Kim. Shingo rolled away, getting back into defensive stance as Kim got back up.

_What is with it and me fighting against people not even half my age?_ Kim thought as he jumped into the air, kicking down a flurry of times. Shingo responded appropriately, spinning up in the air with a Oni Yaki that hit Kim's stomach.

He took a few steps back, waiting for Shingo's next move… which ended up being to charge full-run at Kaphwan.

"Moerou… SHINGO!"

He rammed into Kim full-speed, his shoulders doing the dirty work as Kim was sent smashing into a wall. He got up, looking at Yabuki while gritting his teeth._ Then again… what he HELL is with me losing to them!_

A/N: As the remaining two quarter-final matches in the initial bracket continue, Andy will attempt to get back at Benimaru for a humiliating loss the year beforehand. In addition, Shingo shows his passion and desire to be a great fighter, yet at the same time, his own lack of experience may prove his downfall. And Sie will learn first hand he just can't rely on his remaining abilities as a Serpent God in Eiji Kisaragi, Professional Battle Consultant.


	49. Eiji Kisaragi, Pro Battle Consultant

A/N: Well, I have some pretty bad news for you all. First, I wasn't able to update twice last week, second, I was totally exhausted on Wednesday after getting back from D.C. and couldn't write, third, I couldn't find the time to write yesterday, and lastly, I have a couple other stories that are near their conclusion and I owe it to my few reviewing readers for those to update and finish them ASAP. In English, this means that ASD will be having a slow-down in updates, where I'll write two chapters for this, then one chapter for any two of my other fanfictions, then two more of these, and so on. Rest assured, "A Single Decision" is still the fanfic I love writing the most. And this author's notes is getting way too long, so I better make this chapter a good one!

Oh, but before I start, I will _kill_ for a Spartan: Total Warrior/God of War crossover fanfic. I want it that badly.

Disclaimer: The usual.

Kim got back up to his feet promptly, and he took another good look at Shingo. The kid lacked experience, that was sure… but the ferocity he put into his blows, well… Kim knew that more than made up for it from being on the receiving end for it. But lacking experience was still lacking experience, and Kim grinned before approaching Shingo again.

"Ready to continue?" Kaphwan asked. Shingo nodded.

Both fighters charged, Kim striking at Shingo's lower leg as the teenager struck with an overhead punch. Both attacks connected, Shingo suddenly slamming to the floor as Kim took a hit to the chest. Yet Shingo was still on the ground, and Kim smashed his foot down repeatedly. There was a small part of him that was drawing the connection between his current savagery and the abuse Geese had handed to him before, but the rest of him quickly denounced it as evil.

Of course, such an act required much of Kaphwan's focus, and Shingo used those precious milliseconds to roll away, hand-spring backwards, and then plant his feet in Kim's face. The Tae Kwan Do fighter stumbled back a few steps but charged afterwards, Shingo already spinning around, ready for a roundhouse punch.

Kim's kick to the sternum _hurt_, like none other, but to Shingo at that moment, something was more important… winning. His entire life, he was the bumbling, naïve loser that tried his best, got too high on his horse and couldn't see the big picture when he got introspective, and as painful as it was to admit, Shingo knew Kyo probably mocked him behind his back.

But nobody would mock somebody that beat somebody even Billy Kane had trouble with… and the bone-crushing punch to Kim's face let Shingo know this was _his_ chance. Screw winning a tournament, just having a Rocky-esque moment would be enough.

"SHINGO KICK!" Shingo turned backwards, his right foot smashing into Kim's head before Yabuki slammed his hands on the ground, and raised his left foot to slam it under Kim. "SHINGO SPIN!" With nothing but upper-body strength, Shingo spun himself, throwing Kim into the wall again and then getting up.

Shingo was panting at the sight as Kim collapsed on the ground.

"Winner…" the ref announced, "Shingo Yabuki!"

He… he had done it. He had-

**WHAM!**

"Winner," the ref immediately continued with, "Andy Bogard!"

Sie and Benimaru looked at the second fighter on the Rival Team, the younger Bogard looking down at the unconscious schoolboy. He had lost his cool, and had paid the cost. Andy then grinned, Mr. "Not Man Enough to be Gay" was stepping up to fight next.

"You won't win again," he said as Benimaru threw Shingo's unconscious body over to Sie. _After all… there always remains the power of the darker part of a Shiranui ninja, ready to emerge at any necessary moment. And Nikaido will be on the receiving end too. I've spent so long perfecting it… I know I won't lose this time!_

Beni and Andy stared opposite each other, both blondes ready for battle the second the ref declared it. No sooner had the word escape his lips did the two go at it, bone-crushing punches slamming into each other.

Benimaru knew he had the advantage when it came to these close-range battles. After all, by temporarily frying Heidern's nerves, he had defeated a far stronger enemy, and Andy was weaker than the senior Ikari. Bending away from Andy to dodge a point-blank Hishou Ken blast, Beni crouched down and countered, spinning around and slamming his legs into Andy's in an attempt to sweep him.

The Shiranui ninja took the hit without too much consequence, however, and jumped into the air. He rocketed down at Beni, flames erupting from his legs, but Beni jumped at him and spun in mid-air, again tapping into the incredible conductive power of the Neo Electrigger. Electricity coursed through his body as he delivered Andy's head to the mat _hard_ before springing away.

Surprisingly, however, Benimaru was surprised to see Andy pull himself off with little more than a few bruises and some minor swelling.

"That all you got?" Andy asked as he dashed in front of Benimaru, elbowing him in the face and sending him slamming to the mat hard, blood dripping down from a bruised and bloody cheek. "Take that, pretty boy… how do you like your beautiful face now? Gonna start screaming out 'My face! My face!' or something?" He turned to Sie. "And you're next too."

The Psycho Soldier shook his head, pointing back to Beni. "He's not done yet."

"Yeah…" Beni muttered as he got back to his feet. "And you think I'm just going to start screaming and lose my cool? Wrong... I'd wear any life-long scars as a medal, a reminder for me that one day, I beat up somebody stupid enough to think I'd thrown in the towel just because of a few little scrapes!"

"Strong words…" Andy mused. "Shall we continue?"

"Sounds peachy!"

* * *

"I'll handle this one," Mary said as she stepped up to fight Ralf, "Thanks again, Joe…"

"No problem…" Higashi answered, "My pleasure taking the initiative…" He staggered forward, Billy catching him. "Thanks, now win this fight!"

"No problem," Mary answered.

Ralf, on the other hand, was doing some stretches and then nodded. He was set. This would be a bit tricky, this was their first time against the Fatal Fury team, and Leona was already down and out of it. Time to even the odds.

Ralf and Mary stepped out on the airfield, taking a good look at each other before dropping down and preparing for battle… the grappler against the pugilist.

Mary started out quickly, jumping forward but stopping as soon as Ralf let out a flurry of rapid-fire punches. She had no idea what to block first, so she didn't even try. The detective rolled away, and although Mary caught a few hits, it wasn't anything serious and she sprang at Ralf from behind, kicking him in the back of the head. Ralf turned to late to escape, but he at least managed to jump in the air, letting Mary's impact do the real dirty work. Spinning in air, Ralf, rocketed down back at Blue Mary, he grunt of pain music to his ears as he quickly went to work on her with another flurry of punches.

This time, Mary had no choice but to throw up what defense she could for such an unpredictable barrage. Ralf didn't hit like a tank, that would be putting it rather mildly, but then again, she realized something.

This flurry of punches seemed actually a tad slower than Joe's… and with that in mind…

Ralf was utterly shocked as Mary caught his next punch in her Atami Nage style technique and then sweeped his legs out. Ralf began falling to the ground, but Mary promptly kicked him in the face, sending him careening in the air.

He landed without any serious injuries, however, and pulled back for his most dreaded technique.

"GALACTICA PHANTOM!"

Mary stood on her toes, waiting until just the right second.

She wondered if Ralf even knew the entire lower half of his body was completely unprotected.

Just as he hit, Mary drove down and grabbed his legs, then pulling back for a suplex than hammered his head hard into the ground. The impact was devastating, and as Mary let him go to fall on the ground, he said only one thing on it.

"No… no way…"

Joe and Billy were amazed by the comeback, cheering happily as Clark immediately complained that he wouldn't get to fight, to which Leona promised he could in the Loser's bracket against whoever they would face.

Billy smirked at the change of events, knowing that their next match-up would be against Team Kyokugenryu. Although Billy didn't feel bad about his first-round defeat to Ryo last year, he was certainly looking forward to a rematch as he, Joe, and Mary walked back to one of the choppers to leave.

"Wait."

He turned to see Leona looking up at him, a little sore (literally) after Joe's victory, but otherwise fine. "Tell Geese that we've got our side of the field in order."

Not really understanding what she meant, but understanding it was something important, Billy nodded. "Sure. See you in Southtown!"

* * *

Andy and Benimaru continued to exchange murderous blows, the bone-breaking strikes of Kopo Ken against Benimaru's mix of electric and Muay Thai themed moves. By now, the injuries they had previously wrought on each other had been forgotten, mainly by the much bigger ones now being shown, but their ferocity in battle was not compromised in any way.

_Dammit he's good…_ Andy thought, _our last fight was cut too short to see what he was really made of, but this… I'm starting to think there was no weak link in the Japan team._

They punched each other in the head at almost the exact same time, getting knocked to opposite sides of the arena before springing back at each other.

Andy sprang up in the air, shooting down as Benimaru flipped backwards, a bolt of electricity his hatchet man for this occasion. The lightning hit Andy's legs, numbing them entirely as Nikaido kicked Andy in the face as he landed before charging up his finisher, Bogard completely unprotected.

"RAIKOKEN!"

The gigantic electric burst fried Andy entirely, and one more kick for good measure sent him smashing into a wall.

Whew… beat him… 

But no sooner had Beni thought that did Eiji Kisaragi appear from behind, grabbing Benimaru and pounding him into the ground hard. The wear and tear of the previous battle, in addition to this surprise attack, was more than enough to knock Benimaru out as well.

"So it's just you and me now, then," Eiji said as he stared at Sie.

"You forgot the ref."

"He doesn't count."

_Meh MEH meh meh… _Sie thought snippily as he strutted out. _Okay, this shouldn't be too tough. Just one Millennium Breaker and it'll all be over!_ He flexed his muscles, gathering his strength and bringing himself to a state of readiness for the battle. He snapped his eyes open…

And was rewarded with a fist to the face. Sie staggered back, Eiji standing arrogantly in front of him.

"Might be smart to do all that stuff _before_ you step into the ring," Eiji commented. "I mean, I don't claim to be a professional battle consultant, but you really need to take things a little more seriously." He promptly reflected back a Psycho Ball that slammed into an unsuspecting Sie. "And if you get pissed, try to at least not just lash out with whatever seems convenient!"

Sie shook his head and charged, punching and kicking at the cocky ninja bastard. Eiji really didn't bother block that much, preferring to dodge and weave around the strikes. Eventually, however, a precise punch on Sie's part knocked Eiji back and gave Sie the opening he wanted.

"MILLENNIUM BREAKER!"

Sie flew past Eiji, punching him once in the head, and expecting the glorious sounds of 1000 punches doing the dirty work he wanted.

Instead, Sie gasped out in horror as numerous slashes sprung up all over his body.

"Tell me truthfully," Eiji asked as Sie turned around, trying to catch his breath. The ninja was smiling at him, spinning his knives around in his hands. "Did you do _any_ serious training for this tournament whatsoever?"

Sie gulped. Okay, so there was the crazy stuff he did with Shingo… but he had seriously expected the strength that had demolished Yagami to still remain with him, just requiring the standard cliché of "getting angry enough to unlock latent powers."

And here he was, staring down a professional assassin who had to beat off Strider Hiryu fanboys with a stick at every waking moment… and getting schooled by him, literally.

"Shall we continue?" Eiji asked as Sie gulped nervously. "Well? Fine… I'll take that as a yes!"

Eiji jumped into the air, firing down rapid-fire kicks as Sie rolled away before springing back, retaliating in kind and actually landing a series of kicks that sent Eiji to the floor.

"Okay, you at least maintained forward momentum for most things," Eiji continued as he rose to his feet. A flurry of Psycho Balls shot at him faster than he could track, let alone decide what to counter first.

So instead he just slashed down with a gigantic energy wave and blew them all away. Sie was hit hard by it, sliding backwards and trying in vain to catch his breath. And Eiji didn't let up on him for a second.

The Kisaragi ninja shot forward, grabbing Sie and jumping into the air before landing a painful and very hard landing which made Sie start seeing stars.

"Take training seriously next time," Eiji said as he walked away. He suddenly stopped as he jumped into the air happily. He knew what had just happened…

His team HADN'T lost in the opening round!

"YAY!" Eiji shouted happily, jumping for joy.

* * *

"Well… we're still in this then," Geese said as he rested his weary body on sofa next to Marie.

"I know you would, though… and it was nice to see that awful woman get what she deserved," Marie answered. "Incidentally, what happened to her?"

"Locked up in an asylum until she regains some vestiges of sanity… probably won't be there long too," Geese answered, kissing Marie gently before wincing in pain.

"You alright?"

"Yeah… these are just a message from the Sakazakis saying most of what's happened is over with…"

"Nice to know." She smiled weakly once, as if there was something on her mind.

"What is it, Marie?"

"Nothing," she answered, "Just thinking about how none of us have all the time in the world we want…"

"Don't talk like that, Marie," Geese said, "That's not the kind of think to say to the captain of the team that'll either fight the Japan or Rival team tomorrow."

"Sorry…" she answered, her expression improving a bit.

* * *

"So… been enjoying the tournament this time around, Ash?" Elisabeth asked as she and her subordinate rested in two beds in a Southtown hotel.

"Just seeing more of the same, if you ask me," Ash answered, running his hand along the scar that Elisabeth's whip had inflicted during the Wyler incident. "You know you're walking a tightrope this time."

"We always are, Ash. If you're _really _worrying, I can give you the name of a surgeon that works wonders when it comes to reattaching your ba-"

"That's enough of that," Ash answered, irritated and getting up to get out of earshot of his least favorite bitch. "Where's Chris?"

"Oh, you mean the Orochi? I saw him playing 'Starcraft' down in the computer lab. Worst case, I'll buy him some hentai or something to keep him out of trouble."

"You could have just come clean to-"

"Out of the question, Ash," Elisabeth countered. "The less everyone knows about you, the less your enemies do too. Seriously, I wonder how the hell you got by before I started calling the shots."

_I'm sure_, Ash thought in retaliation as he walked away.

A/N: As the second day of the tournament springs up, intense battles and vicious rematches are abound, Andy and Eiji itching for revenge against Iori Yagami and Ryo battling once again against Billy Kane. In spite of it all, however, All Eyes are on Athena.


	50. All Eyes on Athena

A/N: Well, my hiatus from this has gone on for TOO long… it's about time I get this show on the road again! Plus… it's another anniversary! Chapter 50… a sad truth this story will probably be more around 150… Best to make them count, anyways!

Athena sighed happily, resting in a suit of pajamas with pegasi on it next to Kyo, looking forward to the next round of the tournament. "Remind me to thank Iori for paying for our penthouse."

"Sure," Kyo answered, "You know…I got the results for my midterms."

"And?" Athena asked, grinning. Ever since Yuki's… injury, Kyo had seemed to understand life was a lot more fleeting, and it was a miracle if you could just walk out your front door and walk to school without getting killed by one of a billion accidents. Kenny McCormick was the proof of that.

The result, Kyo making a complete 180 in his studies.

He looked her in the eye and smiled back. "Perfect scores. Every single one of them. At this rate, I'll graduate in the top 20."

Athena was overjoyed, moving in and kissing him in celebration. "Kyo… that's just incredible. Let's make the KoF '97 be one for the history books."

"Yeah."

* * *

It was painful to see her like this… sedated since she couldn't be trusted with her own mind. Andy hated it, and as he stared at Mai in the bed, the only consolation was that she was sound asleep and looked so peaceful.

He wondered if Mai would be like this the next time she woke up.

"Andy."

He looked up to see Eiji leaning against the wall, stood up… but promptly fell over again.

"My ninja-stealth is superior to yours… I tied your shoelaces together as a joke." Eiji said as he helped Andy up. "How you doing?"

"Pissed, what else?"

"Come on, let me get you a coffee or something downstairs. With any luck, Kim can denounce the overcharged prices as 'evil' and we can get a hundred bucks of store credit." Eiji said, helping Andy go. "Worried?"

"Obviously."

"She had it coming, you _do_ know that. Same goes for your bro-"

Andy turned and snarled, slamming Eiji into the wall. "Finish that sentence only if you don't value your life."

"Why not?" Eiji answered, unmoved by Andy's threats. "Face it. How close do you think you would be with your brother if Geese was dead."

"Still inseparable."

"I don't think so," Eiji stated plainly, not minding at all Andy's fist that was inches away from his face. "I mean, what's the reason you merry little munchkins are all one happy family? Reason being: Geese. Now let's look at another little happy family, the Sakazakis and the people they know. Like you, they were united by Geese Howard's dastardly doings, but they're so much more than just 'The Legion of Geese-Haters.' King and Ryo certainly love each other and keep their doings on the down low, and Yuri and Robert certainly care about each other a lot. Hell, they even respect Geese to an extent nowadays. Their fight yesterday was between people that settled past differences and walked away as friends."

"He killed my father, you know that?"

"Your father didn't leave well-enough alone." Eiji knew these were most likely the most inflammatory words he had said today, and he was thankful he had previously written out his last will and testament just in case.

Andy looked at him once and shoved Eiji away. "Buzz off… I'll see you at our match today."

* * *

Southtown was alive again with excitement as the next round for the starting bracket was about to begin, pitting the Japan Team against the Rival Team… with many commentators suspecting the Japan Team would have significant trouble by virtue of the fact that Eiji and Andy were familiar with Iori's fighting style.

The fact that the round was going to be tag-team didn't help any whatsoever. The three Japan Team members looked between each other, and a few words were exchanged that nobody else caught, although it was ended with something along the lines of "Rock, Paper, Scissors doesn't work when there are three people, idiots."

Eventually, however, the three were called back to focus when Kim shouted out to them to come and get the beating they deserved.

Irritable by nature, Iori promptly decided to confront him. Racking his neck and snapping his fingers to literally warm-up his abilities, Iori leaned back and stared at Kim.

"This won't be long," Iori flatly stated. Kim responded by lunging forward, launching a flurry of kicks as usual, although Yagami bent out of the way with a bored look on his face. When he moved to send a stream of flames across the ground, Kaphwan responded as he had prepared to…

His foot slammed the ground, the force of the attack blowing out the fire as Iori looked down in surprise… just the opening Kim needed to hammer Iori with a flurry of kicks to the sides, guts, and chest before jumping in the air and landing one final, photo-worth blow of his heel slamming into Iori's head.

Kim flipped back majestically onto his feet, just in time to see Iori charging right at him.

"_THANKS!_" Iori shouted as he smashed Kim around, "The fight was sorta being boring, thanks for giving me the motivation to keep focused."

The Korean slid back, panting when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Take a break," Andy commanded, tagging in. Iori, at the sight of Kim, took the opportunity to indulge in a brief but still _completely_ unnecessary maniacal laugh.

"You'll be laughing out your other end when I'm done with you," Andy growled, charging. Iori watched him approach, summoning up a gigantic burst of purple flames on the ground. Yet Iori's eyes went wide as Andy suddenly dashed from side to side, avoiding the flames and hammering a surprised Yagami as fast as he could.

Eventually Andy jumped back and then threw himself forward, slamming his feet into Iori's head as a fiery aura erupted around him.

_WHAT THE HELL?_ Iori thought as he regained his bearings as fast as possible, raised up his defenses, and quickly tried to understand where this new strength was coming from. _He… he hit harder than Kyo _EVER _did during our sparring sessions… true, we both saved the greater extent of our power for our final fight after all of this… but this just makes no sense!_

* * *

Hidden in the stands, his blonde hair now draped over his face to hide his identity, Terry Bogard leaned back and smirked.

"Well, I'll be damned," he sighed, "Well, I'll be _damned!_ Andy was able to summon up those Shiranui powers again like in '93. And this time… his opponents can't gang up on him. Game over, Japan Team."

* * *

In spite of the initial shock at Andy's new strength, Iori fought back fiercely, and Andy was surprised at how well Iori was fairing… the Yagami warrior was keeping up with him! _Actually_ keeping up with him!

Andy flipped away as Iori slashed at him, although part of the ninja's garb was ripped in the process. He slid back to dodge one of Iori's punches, and elbowed him in the face. Iori responded by kicking straight up as he stumbled back, hitting Andy as he recoiled back. And charged again, and Iori was about to return the favor when he heard a voice.

"IORI! TAG OUT!"

It was Athena, and although Iori _was_ tempted to use… IT, he realized Athena and Kyo thought it wise to act out their plan.

A perfect way to have a little surprise next round too.

"Fine."

Iori hopped out as Athena teleported in, narrowly dodging Andy's kick before bluish-purple electricity crackled around her. Then, in a dark and foreboding voice suddenly spoke straight to the younger Bogard's mind echoed inside of him.

_You are _nothing.

"PSYCHO CRUSHER!"

The resulting scene lasted all but three seconds, yet they were three seconds that would be permanently branded into the memories of the spectators. Athena rocketed forward, hands stretched out, purple energies crackling around her.

Andy raised his guard with more than enough time to spare, but if it really did anything, he had absolutely no idea. It hurt _that much_.

And yet Athena continued, blowing through the unsuspecting Eiji and Kim, looks of horror on their eyes.

A gigantic plume of energy shot into the sky with the image of a skull on the inside, the destruction made all the more disturbing the complete silence that accompanied it.

Andy, Eiji, and Kim hit the ground hard as Athena landed gracefully, telekinetically restarting their hearts and looking to the ref.

"What? They'll survive."

* * *

"You know the deal, _I'm_ the one fighting this time," Clark said plainly as the Ikari jet rocketed towards Japan, although Leona didn't seem to be paying much attention to it all. The horrifying result of the fight had been enough that the Boss Team had been declared the victor of its match against the Rival Team by default.

"Sure enough, man. Just don't blow it. If you're gonna lose, give it your all," Ralf answered. Looking over at Leona, he snapped his fingers a few times. "Hey, Serpent-chick."

Leona turned to him. "Yes?"

"Any idea about all of this?"

"No… not really. But I'm very confident in saying Athena Asamiya is most likely a Serpent God… don't know which one yet."

"Well, we've taken down two on our own… you and Kensou, so one more won't be too much of a problem!" Ralf said while pumping a fist. "We'll bowl over those idiots left and right!"

"Hopefully. If not, we use the fact we'll be on the sidelines to our advantage and take a look into the goings-on," Leona answered.

* * *

The mats had been removed, the students of both schools were sitting opposite of each other, and their head teachers were sitting at the front of the groups as Team Kyokugen and Team Fatal Fury approached each other inside the Hakkyokusieken academy's interior.

Considering how much abuse the Kyokugen dojo suffered during most of its fights, Lilly had offered to let the match take place at her school instead, not a problem since Geese could afford to pay for the repairs. Takuma had jumped at the opportunity at free advertising, plus a friendly match between teams… although he had to admit Ryo and the others were still a bit hammered by the abuse Geese had handed them.

Looking back at Yuri and Robert, as well as King, Ryo called out to Billy with a proposition.

"Kane, I know this is supposed to be a 2-on-2 deal, but after Athena's little exhibition and the fact both our teams are beat up, wanna just settle this like men?"

"WHAT?" Joe, Mary, Robert, and Yuri screamed at the top of their lungs, "RYO/BILLY, YOU CAN'T DO THIS!"

But Billy just shrugged and shook his head. "Why not? You two are beat up from your fight with the Ikaris and-"

"RYO! YOU'RE NO SON OF MINE! LET GO OF ME, MARCO! LET ME AT HIM!" Takuma was flailing madly as one of the higher-ups at the school tried to hold him back along with Lilly and a few other students. "KYOKUGEN IS 'EXTREME KARATE', NOT WIMP-OUT KARATE!"

"I'm not wimping out here, dad," Ryo stated as his father tried in vain with a Zanretsuken flurry less than three inches from Ryo's head, the Sakazaki actually looking a little embarrassed that the other team was seeing all of this. "It's just that I'm pretty beat up as it is, and if we go all-out, we might not have the steam for the final match. That's all!"

"SURPISE ROSE!" King's feet smashed into Takuma's head, the kickboxer dragging the Sakazaki patriarch away. "Ryo, whatever. It makes sense, your dad just has too much old-man pride to accept it. Best of luck."

Ryo nodded and turned back to face Billy. "Well then, we've reached an agreement."

"Sounds great. Shall we?"

Stick fighter and Kyokugenryu master charged at each other, Billy swinging horizontally with his staff. Ryo bent backwards, the weapon coming a hair's breadth away from hitting his gi, but upon the moment passed, Ryo snapped back up, punching at Billy.

The Englishman jumped into the air, but Ryo came at him with a Ko Hou uppercut. Billy barely had time to shoot his staff into the ground and push himself far enough away that Ryo would miss before smashing down with his staff and nailing Ryo. Sakazaki flipped backwards as he fell, springing off the ground and avoiding Billy's follow-up before shooting foot-first at Billy's head.

Billy felt himself being snapped around by the triplet of kicks, but he used his staff to keep his balance and spin around, catching Ryo in the face before he could land a fourth hit. The two skidded away, incapable of believing the other's strength.

"Now I understand how you guys wore Geese down so much," Billy complimented as he dried his sweaty hands on his jacket.

"Thanks, although it's not going to win you any favors in this fight." Ryo answered, firing off a Koah-Ken at Billy. The bodyguard countered appropriately, shooting his staff out and piercing the attack, although the shock of the action knocked the weapon back to its initial length.

Billy spun around again, the staff shooting out in a circular manner, the students of each school backing up so as to not be harmed, although Ryo just held his ground. The Kyokugenryu fighter grimaced in pain as the weapon smacked his side, yet he gripped the chain and pulled Billy in.

"KO HOU!"

In one iconic sequence, he uppercutted Billy _hard_, Mary and Joe awestruck as their team captain spun in the air from the attack, but at the same time, kicked out with his legs and managed to smash them into the sides of Ryo's head.

Ryo spiraled through the air with Billy, both of them maintaining enough focus to continue the fight, no matter the injuries they sported.

"GO TO HELL!" Billy shouted, smashing his staff into Ryo's face, who countered in the unorthodox manner of firing a Koah-Ken at the ground and letting the recoil cause their still-airborn bodies to hit into the wall, Billy cushioning Ryo's impact decently.

They hit the ground at about the same time, rolling away from each other and the schools cheered happily… the fact that Robert, Ryo, and Yuri were capable of enjoying a quality fight in the center of their former nemesis's influence. Yuri and Robert were cheering as loud as Joe and Mary, and Ryo managed to rise to his feet first and charge Billy.

"RYUKO RANBU!"

Billy was hammered full-force with a flurry of punches and kicks before being kicked away by Ryo. "HAOH-SHO-KOH-"

Billy's eyes snapped open at the last possible second… this was how the fight had gone last time, more or less… and Ryo was about to wipe him out again…

"SOCKET FLARE!"

"KEN!"

Billy thrust out his staff just as Ryo stretched out his hands, the joints of his staff releasing intense fire that matched Ryo's destructive blast, but Billy wasn't done yet. Pulling back his staff while keeping it in motion enough to continue the fire, he spun it quickly and a circular fire erupted from the tips.

"SERPENT HELLFIRE TRIPWIRE!"

Rather then launch the attack at Ryo, Billy instead smashed his staff into the ground, where rings of fire streamed across it and surrounded the surprised Ryo before blasting him up into the air. Just as Ryo was descending, Billy decided to dust off an old attack, rolling under Sakazaki and shooting his staff up.

"NO SMOKING!"

The staff pounded into Ryo's gut before igniting as well, bathing him in flames before Billy finally threw him off.

Falling down to one knee, Billy looked around as Lilly, Joe, and Mary shouted out happily at this most recent victory. Next stop… the finals!

A/N: Next chapter, the Ikari Warriors and the Sidekick Team do all they can to claw out a win and stay in the game. In the meantime, Billy and the others face off Team Japan's seemingly unlimited might, and it'll take everything they have just to stay in the game. Of course, if they push too hard, they might end up with an Awakened Hydra.


	51. Awakened Hydra

A/N: Next chapter. Up faster, eh? And in other news, I need to stop reading the shoujo-ai… you'll find out why far enough into this. Tell me if it's too sappy… I'm trying not to ruin this with romantic angst.

"I blew it, it's true," Sie said as he sat down on a park bench with Shingo. "We had it won and I just thought I would be stronger after… well, after everything…"

Shingo shook his head before taking a sip of pink lemonade. "You're beating yourself up about it. You want to get better, right?"

"Well, yeah…"

"Then don't let it bother you!" Shingo said as he flashed the Chinese boy an inspirational smile. "I mean, Bogard took me down faster than I could blink, but I'm not feeling depressed about it. You just gotta keep working with it. Effort can pay off if you're patient."

Sie shrugged. "Sure, maybe. But I train my ass off to impress Athena and for what? She ends up being with Kyo anyways. And in the end, I still screw up."

Shingo sighed as he leaned back on the bench. "Sie, if you never have the resolve to get better, you never will be and you'll maintain your seemingly worthless position in life. Willpower is the greater part of the battle, Sie." He stood up, stretching before looking down. "You gonna come and cheer on Benimaru in his rematch against Clark Steel?"

Sie looked up at him and shrugged. "Why not?"

* * *

Benimaru quickly ran through a number of stretches as he recalled his rather unfortunate defeat at the hands of Clark two years ago. Considering how well he felt he was going with this tournament, in spite of the fact his team had lost early in the competition, he had smoked Bogard for the second time in two years and was looking forward to settling an old score. 

True, Beni really didn't hate Clark or anything of that nature… by being incapacitated, Heidern took his spot and wiped the floor with Rugal, more or less effortlessly. But there was the principle of the matter that if he beat Clark, then he could get his rematch with Robert and hopefully get his shot at fighting Kyo again.

The mere thought of evening up his entire track record, more-or-less, for the past four years was almost enough to make him jump for joy, and he quickly straightened his hair with a bit of electricity as he strolled out to face Clark, Leona and Ralf on the sidelines, leaning back in their chairs and just willing to enjoy the fight.

"Ready?" Nikaido asked as Clark adjusted his hat.

"Oh, yes I am," Clark answered. "And I'll crush you in my grip before this fight is over!"

Beni shook his head as sparks let loose from his hands. "You're crazy. I came up with a few grapples of my own since our fight."

"Let's see who's better then!" Clark answered, charging at Benimaru. The blonde raised his defense, but countered at the last second with a hard-hitting kick to the face. Clark spun with the attack, his hand hitting the ground as his left leg moved out and caught the back of Beni's. Both fighters hit the ground at the same time, but Clark, having prepped for this, rolled back to his feet much faster and pounded his elbow into Benimaru's stomach.

Benimaru countered as fast as he could, punching up as electricity crackled around his fist. Clark bent backwards and jumped back a bit, but it gave Beni the opportunity to back off and catch his breath.

The Ikaris were good… always had been, always would be.

Clark's next charge was punished, though, Beni spinning around on one hand and kicking out Clark's legs before jumping back to his feet. Benimaru knew he had an opening, and opening had to be exploited to win the fight.

A quick thrust-kick to the stomach, then a jack-knife-fast kick to the leg. Clark barely escape Beni's conclusion to the sequence, flipping up into the air as a bolt of electricity shot down, and retaliated forcefully.

The still-airborne Shooting fighter suddenly yelped in surprise, Clark having grabbed his arms, and another steel-grip hand clamped down on his legs. Beni screamed in pain as Clark's knee pounded into his backside, only for Clark to throw him up into the air and then pound Benimaru against his back.

"BENIMARU!" Shingo shouted from the sidelines as the blonde was thrown off to the side, slowly getting back up to his feet just in time to see Clark charging with a flurry of punches. His back felt like a trainwreck, but it was a _damn good thing_ his arms still felt decent.

"RAIKOKEN!"

The words echoed in Clark's ears as the mercenary reached Benimaru at just the _wrong_ time for him, an intense pulse of electricity zapping him.

Benimaru knew that Blanka would be proud. Yet he also knew that Clark was sturdy enough to survive that kind of force, and quickly slipped behind him and followed-up with an Electrigger that returned all the damage Clark had done with interest.

"And one thing more for the playbooks!" Beni shouted as he flipped backwards, ignoring, at least for the moment, the intense pain in his backside the ploy had caused and then launching himself forward… yet at the same time leaving himself back where he had been. It really didn't seem to obey the laws of reality, yet the punches and kicks Clark experienced were more than enough to let him know that it _was_ happening, and the last strike; Beni blowing by him with a crackling fist, sent him skyward before landing hard on the ground.

The ref quickly announced the fight over, Benimaru shouting with joy before vowing that whatever winnings he'd get in this tournament, they'd go for medical bills.

_God I'm going to need them_, he thought as he winced in pain.

* * *

"Well… this is it," Kyo said as he, Iori, and Athena walked out. "Just one more fight, and we'll be the champs of the Winner's Bracket." 

"What's the match going to be?" Iori asked. Kyo smirked at the question.

"What else? One on one. Any takers?"

Iori nodded at the comment. "Yeah. Shouldn't be too tough… any of them."

"Well then," Athena said cheerfully, "Shall we?"

"She's obviously Hydra," Elisabeth said as she watched the two teams enter on her penthouse big-screen TV. Ash, as usual, was angsting next to her. "It's almost too much of a coincidence, if you ask me."

"What? Her Greek name, her psychic healing powers, the fact she'd be so damn close to Kusanagi? Wow, boss, you are so right."

"You're about to earn another lashing," the Frenchwoman scolded. "I've put Chris under lock and key for safekeeping. When all Hell breaks loose, we throw him into the mix and hope for the best."

"_THAT'S _the plan?" Ash asked, turning to her in shock. "Isn't that a little… risky?"

"Hey, when there's a fire in an oil field, you blow it out with nitro," Elisabeth countered. "We drag Mukai and the other Past Coming People out here and we blow them away, one, two, three. Between the infighting between all the superpowers, most will be disposed of, and those that remain are exhausted. In a nutshell, everybody saved and onigiri to all knowing parties."

"Jeez… some mastermind _you_ are."

"You make due, Ash."

* * *

"It feels _so_ good to be at the top of my game," Billy said as he did a few stretches, taking a look at his watch. "When's Boss's next round?" 

"You mean the rematch against the Kyokugenryu team?" Joe asked as he and Mary pulled up a pair of ringside seats. "I think in like an hour or so."

"Good then… I don't think this fight will last to terribly long…"

"Oh, for once, I _agree_ with you."

Billy turned to see the imposing six-foot high stature of Iori standing before him, although if he was scared by it, Kane didn't show it. "Good we have some even ground," Billy sarcastically said as he spun his staff around a few times. "Fight'll be more fun this way."

"_Fun?_" Iori repeated, looking at Billy before walking away and doing a few warm-up stretches. "Don't fuck with me. This whole tournament is about doing just one thing: beat the living snot out of everybody here and not having to think 'Well, I might be facing Kyo this year, so I have to same some energy for next round'. Not this time. I'm just going to smash and bash through everyone that is such an unlucky son of a bitch that they have to fight me. It I lose, boo-hoo. Kyo goes down with me and I get my fight anyways. But if I win… oh… if I win, the spectators are going to have on _**BITCH**_ of an exhibition."

"Suit yourself," Billy said as he charged.

* * *

_I love you_… the words had been what Vice thought would be the last words she ever heard in her whole life… yet death seemed rather… sluggish… to claim her. 

True, she found herself in nothing but a void… a cold limbo where she could not see, heard, taste, smell, or touch, but she could think. And those three words stayed in her mind as she thought about the blonde, her friend, that had spoken them.

Mature… _Emily_… had _loved her_? Vice was rather surprised by it all. They had spent a lot of time together and all… 'working' for Rugal, and at first, Vice had thought nothing of those memories where Emily had protected her.

But then she remembered the moment that Ana and Hermione had seemingly killed her, Mature had been quite vengeful, much like after her defeat from Chin. There was always a sense of camaraderie between them… it finally dawned on Celia that to Emily, there was more than just being close friends.

And then she blinked… finding herself in a hospital bed. She looked around, seeing a nurse staring straight at her. Vice turned to her side, seeing Mature also coming out of it… they certainly found a way to jump through hurdles at the same time.

Before Vice could even say a word, the woman ran out of the room, calling for a doctor as Mature groaned, looking over at the brown-haired secretary.

"Celia…"

Vice turned nervously, forming eye contact.

"Vice," Mature said as she turned away, her voice obviously pained. "About what I said… I-I'm sorry."

Vice didn't know what to say… and the silence seemed as if it might last forever. Mature continued quickly, however. "I know we've known each other for a long time… gosh, we're almost _thirty_ and all, and in all the time I've known you… I've always cared for you, a lot. I mean, I'm usually the one looking on the bright side of things and I try to keep my hopes up, and you're the one that seems to constantly end up being frustrated and pessimistic. But you were kinda like an inspiration for me… showing me that no matter how bad you felt something was, you always had the choice of standing up and working for something wonderful. It… I mean, you really meant a lot to me and I'd understand if you didn't feel the same way. When Iori went berserk, I thought we were going to die and I wanted to let you know."

Mature crossed her fingers. _ Oh, please God,_ she thought desperately, _Please, no matter what, don't let her hate me… I'm not some crybaby teen-drama bitch, there's such a thing as unreturned love… just don't_-

"I'm sorry," Vice answered, her voice quiet and even more hurt than Mature's.

"It's not your-"

"Yes, it is," Vice said as she wiped a few tears from her face. "You, you're my best friend. You put up with my bitching so much over the years, all the times I could only see the glass half-full. And through it all, you… you even found a way to really, truly care for me like no other. And I'm not sorry for that… I guess I love you, at least in some way, for that. But what I'm apologizing for is that I just don't love you in the way you love me."

Mature heard the words, and smiled. Technically, nothing had come out of this confession. On the other hand, she felt as if there was one less problem in her world now.

"Amazing you've recovered so-" the doctor said as he came in, but before Vice shouted to him.

"Get a phone already, dammit! And dial it to Geese Howard's number!"

* * *

"Excuse me, ma'am, but are you sure you should be walking around?" 

Yuki froze when she heard the voice behind her. She didn't recognize it… just who could it be?

Turning around to see just one of the private security officers standing there. "You were the girl that got nearly killed last year, right?"

"Oh… yeah," Yuki answered, nodding honestly. "But two of my best friends are here so I thought I'd take a look. I assure you, I'm perfectly fine now."

* * *

Waiting around in a modest sized room with more security than Fort Knox was not the kind of thing Chris had really wanted to do to kill a few days. At the very least, he was playing his new Nintendo BS. 

The Swiss boy was just closing it down when he felt something go through him. The hairs on the back of his neck went straight and a chill went through his body.

He knew what this meant.

Walking over to the intercom, Chris turned it on.

"Need something?" Elisabeth's voice came through.

"She's here."

* * *

_I am _SO _getting a new staff and jacket after this!_ Billy thought as he used his trademark weapon to pole-vault away from Yagami. The fight was close… too close. But Billy had the feeling that Yagami wasn't as low on steam as he was. 

Iori himself was rather surprised by the turn of events of the fight, Billy showing himself to be… _competent_ when it came to fighting with his staff. Of course, it was only a matter of time now. Iori charged, diving sideways to avoid Billy's strike and then letting loose a stream of purple flames. The attacks baked Billy quite well, but damage wasn't their purpose.

The pain was still there, however, and Billy, on reflex, almost let out a yelp of pain… except he couldn't.

He was totally paralyzed.

Iori went to town with a flurry of slashed and smashes, turning Billy's jacket to ribbons and cutting him up modestly before a final spin up into the air, flames streaming from his hands, knocked Kane away. "Like I told you," Iori said as Billy regained motor functions, "I'll beat the snot out of anyone here."

Billy slammed his staff into the ground, trying to catch his breath as Iori just stood there, watching.

"You sure he's not going to kill him?" Athena asked Kyo on the sidelines, who just shrugged.

"The guy works for Geese Howard. Medical bills won't be a problem. As for the kind of injuries he's been getting… they're not _that_ bad. Iori's one psycho in fighting, but his attacks aren't that life threatening." _Well… except like when he went psycho…_

Back in the arena, Billy raised his staff up, wiping some of the blood from his face. This sure hurt a lot… but it wasn't like he was the only guy with flames here. He ran, full sprint, at Iori, slamming down with his staff. Iori, predictably leaned to the side. Billy continued by whapping his staff into Iori's side. It wasn't going to win the match, but it was a start. "Go…" Billy spun the staff clockwise, his weapon catching Iori on the chin and knocking Yagami back a few paces. "To…" A wheel of flames erupted from his weapon, "HELL!"

He launched the attack out, Iori looking at the move coming. Piece of cake. He still had enough in him for a little more toying and-

_IORI!_

Now _THAT _was Athena.

_WIPE HIM OUT! NOW!_

It wasn't a request. But Athena probably had a good reason for all this, and on second thought, Iori figured the quicker this fight went, the better.

Iori launched another stream of fire across the ground just as the wheel hit him, and it promptly caused a gigantic plume of purple flames to shoot up. As soon as it subsided enough, Iori charged at Billy, unleashing the dreaded Ya Otome… the brutal sequence of seven sequential hits finished by grabbing one's foe and lighting them on fire.

There was a burst of flames before Iori tossed Billy's unconscious body onto the ground. He then looked over to Joe and Mary and shrugged. "What? He wasn't worth _killing_ or anything like that…" He walked away, noticing Athena looked a more than a little worried.

She's here… Athena heard a voice say. You know you have to kill her. 

A/N: With the King of Fighters '97 down to its last few matches, things are nearing critical mass. And when things blow, fists will fly, lives will be at stake, and it may fall down on The Few that Fight for Many.

Omake time! (damn, it's been awhile)

Jubei vs. Goro -or- Yeah, Like Cookies can beat Explosive Footsteps

"Ladies and gentlemen!" shouted the announcer to the modest-sized crowd. "I would like to thank you for choosing this dignified competition of Judo over that exotic and rather over-the-top competition the King of Fighters! Of the countless competitors that have engaged here… only two remain!"

The audience went wild as one of them entered… a solitary figure, the large yet not imposing figure of Goro Daimon, headband fastened around his brow and ready to win one final tournament before retirement. "A pioneer and hero of the sport," the announcer continued, "His team has won the King of Fighters, which I must now say is a rather modest and _not_ over-the-top competition, and he has decided to engage in one final solitary competition before letting a younger generation take over. So please, give a hand for……….. Goro DAAAIIIIMMMOOOOOOONN!"

The applause was deafening, and Goro smiled. Finally… just a normal tournament, no evil geniuses or anything. Just good old fashioned Judo.

"And his opponent… _also_ a pioneer and hero of the sport…" the announcer began as a much smaller and older figure came in. "A competitor at only one King of Fighters, a career tragically cut short due to his learning to _not_ grope blonde Americans, and I don't mean Terry Bogard here, Jubei Yamada!"

An equally loud applause was let loose as the two competitors stepped into the ring, Yamada chowing down on a cookie before nodding to the referee that he was ready.

"Those things aren't really good for you," Goro pointed out honestly. "Well, at least not before a big fight like this.

"Ah, you're no fun, you big stupid virgin," Yamada shot back.

"You're the second person to think that of me," Goro said with a smile on his face, "The last guy is dead. Besides, I don't flaunt myself around with a number of women while waiting for my STD tests to get back."

Jubei choked nervously, coughing out part of his cookie before shooting a dirty glance at Goro. "You are _so_ dead for that."

The match began… and Jubei did the only thing he though would be appropriate for this kind of match… throw a load of cookies at the asshole.

Goro didn't flinch at all, instead just smashing his hands into the ground, the pure, seismic force knocking the tiles into the air and smashing into the cookies. Jubei, due to his light weight, also was knocking into the air…

And then Goro was right in front of him.

_Oh shit,_ Jubei thought as Goro grabbed him by the neck and threw him skyward. The smaller, older man hit the ground hard, and the match was immediately awarded to Goro. The winner was relieved, and did his trademark "slam my foot in the ground while there's an explosion" move.

Jubei, barely awake still, noticed Goro standing right in front of him as the trophy was being brought out. His hands drifted towards Goro's pants…

"And the winner in a quick and fast paced battle…" the announcer began, "Goro Daim-"

"I KNEW IT!"

Goro suddenly looked down, Jubei having rolled up Goro's pants a little bit to reveal a tape player and a large speaker system, all hidden under the baggy pants.

Goro's eyes looked around in horror. How… no…

Goro took off screaming and crying towards the exit.

"It's Just not Fair!" -or- Capcom Brothas gotta stick Togetha!

"IT'S JUST NOT RIGHT!" M. Bison screamed at the top of his lungs as he downed another beer. "She stole my move and everything!"

"There there…" soothed Pyron. "I know how it is… you think yourself some big bad guy… and then-"

"Yeah, and then you get replaced by not one, but _two_ guys cooler than you!" Bison sobbed pathetically, his cape ruined and his red military outfit forever ruined. "I mean, that damn Gouki kills me in Super Street Fighter II Turbo and in Street Fighter 3… there's that stupid Gill! It's horrible! At least you never had to worry about that kind of thing…" Bison didn't notice tears welling up in Pyron's eyes. "Being such an awesome boss character that players waste tens of dollars on beating… and then comes this new guy for the new game! And everyone forgets about you or thinks you're a total loser!"

"But… but I do understand that!" Pyron screamed out as he slammed his hands against the counter, yelling for the bartender for another round of beers. "That stupid Jedah robs me of everything! And he's just a tribute to Devilman!"

"Well, not _just_ a tribute," Bison pointed out. "It's more a facial comparison between the two more than anything else."

"But that's not important! You think Demitri's got it bad? That guy's a total wimp! Only reason I lost to him was that I was too busy gawking at his manly che- I mean, Morrigan's breasts!"

Bison slowly inched away from Pyron.

"Hmph… you two are pathetic Capcom villains."

Pyron and Demitri turned as an imposing, 65-year old man walked up to them. His voice was German, and his very elaborate suit emanated power. "Imagine having a 40-year career as a lawyer, only being penalized once. And then you get to kill the guy that did that to you and raise his own son as your own, treating him like dirt and planning a final revenge since he believes himself guilty of his father's murder." The man suddenly called over another beer as he wiped a few tears from his eyes. "Then… then you face that damanbale Ace Attorney, Phoenix Wright… _AND HE HUMILIATES YOU IN COURT!_"

"Manfred…" Pyron started to say.

"Von Karma?" Bison finished. Manfred nodded.

"But you're not even the final boss of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney!"

"I WAS BEFORE THE WHOLE DS REMAKE!" Manfred screamed in sorrow. "And then my daughter loses _two_ cases to that bastard in the sequel!"

"Wow… you think _you_ got it bad?" announced another old man as he walked up to the bar and ordered a beer. "Imagine almost 20 years of evil schemes all going down the drain. All because of that STUPID MEGA MAN!"

"You mean…" Bison began.

"Doctor," Pyron started to say, but Manfred cut him off.

"Willy?"

"WILY! WILY, YOU IDIOTS!" Dr. Wily shouted. "_EVERY_ time I try to defeat that stupid Mega Man, something springs up! And now that they've more-or-less phased out the original series AND Battle Network, I have no chance of beating him! It's all about 'Mega Man Zero' now… and that's like 200 years in the future! And Mega Man ZX too… but that's all about stuff that happened in Zero! You guys got it easy. You're either dead, sucked up into a vampire, or in prison! How the hell do _I _jump into the future?"

"Well…" Bison started to say, "They _do_ have those Flux Capacitors down at the local hardware store…"

"I saw them. But we're all broke."

"Shit."


	52. The Few that Fight for Many

A/N: Well, between reading a few more fanfics, working on some other projects, and having the most finicky computer this side of "I'm a Mac… and I'm a PC" ads, I'm BACK! And you know what that means… it's time to get this damn show on the road!

The first thing Andy sensed as he regained consciousness was that someone was in his hospital room… someone familiar.

It couldn't be Mai… for her to make a recovery so quick after that kind… entirely out of the picture. Probably just Terry, dropping in, waiting for him to wake up so they could discuss what this meant. Either that or Eiji or Kim…

"Andy."

No. That was a female voice.

He slowly opened up one of his eyes, seeing the woman he loved sitting on a chair next to his bed. Her choice of civilian clothing was less than… modest… but at least it covered enough of her well enough he wasn't seeing if she had any grave injuries still there.

"How you doing?" Andy asked… the redheaded ninja smiling at the remark before shaking her head.

"Me? Shiranui mental training… it's not _that_ ineffective. Truth be told… though…" she sighed, turning aside… "I was thinking it as… motivation."

"What?"

Mai seemed to tense up. "I… I used you. You care a lot about me, and before I go any further, know it's returned in full. It's just… I thought that maybe… if you were driven enough… you'd get angryenoughandfightyourwaytothefinalsandkillGeeseinitand-"

"Stop," Andy groaned as he leaned up. She turned to him, a look of shock on her face.

_No… he wouldn't…_

"Don't go any further… I understand."

_Oh God… what have I-_

"It's okay." The look on Mai's face let Andy know that wasn't what she had expected. "You… you had faith I'd get through it all, right?"

"Well, yeah… you're not that bad a fighter. That Benimaru character just ends up frying people's nerves and they lose because they can't move. Heidern lost to him that way."

"That's more faith than Terry probably has in me." Another silence followed… Mai surprised by him yet again. "I mean… he really doesn't care if we win or not… He's too preoccupied with those goddamn scrolls. And you're going to be needing a new team next year anyways… Come to think of it, Eiji and I might end up talking Kim into taking a year off for sabbatical… Would you-"

"Sure." A quick kiss later, Mai was out the door, whistling as if all was fine.

* * *

Athena collapsed on the bed, nearly exhausted from her little showstopper not too terribly long ago. 

Iori had given his gruff farewell before staggering off to his room. Apparently some "idiot" was writing some anime crossover AU webcomic and Asuka from _Neon Genesis Evangelion_ was in it…

And she just _happened_ to have an outfit that looked exactly like his and wielded a certain magatama-shaped Sacred Treasure as a blunt weapon.

Kyo smiled as he walked into the apartment after Athena, glad another day's battle was over. He took off his jacket and headband, sitting down on the bed next to Athena. He smiled at the sight of her… she certainly had done a lot for him, and Kyo rested his hand on her shoulder. "How's it going?"

"Okay…" she responded, straightening up and then leaning her back against Kyo, breathing nice and slow. "Just doing some thinking and all."

"About what?"

"Well…" Athena started to say. That voice in her mind was telling her… to take it slow. She thought it wise. "For one… what would it be like to truly, seriously, hurt a friend, someone you cared about. But knowing you had to do it no matter what?"

"Well, I'd say try to talk to them first, talk them out of it," Kyo said in response, wrapping his arms around her waist and enjoying the quiet moment with her. Just being here, able to forget about the Orochi and his match against the Boss Team that would no doubt come about in just a few days… "If not, well… do what you can. If they're really your friend, and you're really theirs, don't you think they'd want you to knock them back to their sense?"

"Sure, I guess…" Athena said, closing her eyes and letting it go. "You wanna stay like this for a bit?"

"Well, we'll have to move sometime… like breakfast or a shower or something."

"Yeah, but this feels like… like an important time. Catch your breath, regain your focus on life and everything… that sorta thing."

"Maybe…" he checked his watch. "Wow… it's pretty late. Wonder if your buddy Sie and my buddy Shingo are fighting the Kyokugen Team yet…"

"Probably… think they've lost yet?" she joked, a few giggles escaping at the throat. Kyo took the joke quite well, chuckling at the remark.

"They're not that bad… Sie just didn't get off his ass and train. Otherwise, he woulda smoked Eiji. Beni's tougher than ever, and Shingo… well, what he lacks in experience and special techniques, he makes up for with a strong will and work ethic…"

Athena laughed at the last part. "Funny… Sie and Shingo… so similar, yet totally different in regards to their work ethics, eh?"

"Yeah."

* * *

Shingo yelped in shock as he slid away, his jacket smoldering from the heat of Yuri's Haoh-Sho-Koh-Ken. The fight had only been going on for a few moments, yet he found Yuri to be very much _not_ the inexperienced fighter her youthful appearance implied. The selections for this match had been rather… obvious for both teams. 

One, Sie felt himself not worthy to fight _just_ yet. Instead, he had contacted Master Chin and get some advice. No matter what, he promised that he'd fight in the next round of the Loser's Bracket.

Two, Robert and Ryo were thoroughly hammered by their injuries handed to them by Geese and his bodyguard. Though Yuri had also been hammered by Geese, that had been at the end of the fight, whereas Robert had suffered against a full-powered Geese's blows.

Lastly, Benimaru was claiming his back was acting up again… leaving the poor schoolboy that was neither blessed with his "master's" flames, psychic powers and the abilities of a Serpent God, OR the electrical powers endowed by a giant radiosphinctopragmomitor.

So it fell on the greenest of the Benimaru Team's members to make a desperate stand against a girl with nearly 25 years of Kyokugenryu training. Sure, Shingo had barely _beaten_ Kim… but Yuri was also younger, more spry and energetic than Kim.

Not a good mix when that essentially meant Shingo wouldn't be able to defend well against her offensive moves and her Raiou fighting style, which was far superior in regards of defense, also meant that she would be able to easily counter most of Shingo's attacks.

Of course, when nothing you did would really work, it also meant you felt no shame in pretty much trying anything and everything and hope for the best… and Shingo, in his heart of heart, was an optimist.

Jumping up and raising his legs to just barely avoid Yuri's Koah-ken, Shingo charged and punched at her. She threw up a short-range energy field that blasted him back. Shingo roared in frustration, performing a Shingo Kick. Hopefully the plow would arc over her technique-

"KOAH-KEN!"

Yuri had sprung into the air while Shingo had been thinking, his plan not expecting this. The attack missed him, however, hitting the ground right below him…

And then unfortunately burst up into the air hitting Shingo hard. He hit the ground on his back, groaning as Yuri stood a good distance away, catching her breath and hoping Shingo wouldn't get up after that. True, she'd been dominating the fight, and the fans here at the Southtown Stadium as well as the fellow members of the Kyokugenryu School were chanting her name, she really couldn't keep this up forever.

Beating Geese took everything from her… and even with a few days of recovery, she wasn't back up to full strength. And _now_ she was up against just a kid that idolized Kusanagi yet had no chance of ever living up to his legacy. Yet Shingo was the kind of person that wouldn't care even if he was kicked into a pile of dogshit… or at least Yuri felt that way. He'd probably get up and wipe himself off and take a shower as soon as possible.

That was a noble trait, but that also made keeping him down damn near impossible.

Shingo roared in frustration as he got to his feet and kicked at her, arcing up at about a 30-degree angle while kicking several times. One of Kyo's ploys, although Shingo's was by far slower. She shot up in a Yuri Chou Upper, but suddenly Shingo yelped out in shock.

His legs… when he had been bringing his left leg in, hit bashed into his right, throwing off his balance and causing his angle in the air to be adjusted. He ended up falling right on Yuri, the two of them hitting the ground and wincing in the pain.

They were _both_ really wishing the other one wouldn't get up, yet Yuri and Shingo managed to rise to their feet again as Shingo threw his school jacket off.

"Wha-what's the matter?" Yuri asked with a grin on her face, "Getting _tired_?"

"Tired?" Shingo panted back, "You're out of your mind!" He ran at Yuri, wondering why she didn't try a Koah-Ken or something…

Just as he reached the girl, she launched her attack… a weak, point-blank Koah-Ken that would have been an embarrassment to Kyokugenryu, except that Shingo was as tired, if not _more_ tired than Yuri, and bent back by the impact of it. He staggered back, trying to drive away the ringing in his ears, the pain in his chest, the black void that was consuming his eyesight.

"YURI! WIPE HIM OUT!" Ryo, Robert, and King shouted from the sidelines, Takuma leading Yuri's fellow Kyokugen practitioners to cheer her on as she pulled back for one final punch. She would've done a Ryuko Ranbu… but Yuri doubted she had the force to really do a Ranbu.

Her fist sailed out as Shingo managed to upright himself, seeing the attack. He ducked barely in time, Yuri forcing herself to raise her knee up and smash into Shingo's chin. Yet… she didn't feel the impact yet… she looked down, seeing Shingo rise up into the air pound her in the face with his fist, although he immediately felt the pain of the ploy.

Both contestants, on their last ounces of strength, staggered away. Yuri pulled back for a Koah-Ken… hoping she had enough left in her for at least a small one as Shingo began what was likely his last suicide rush.

Yuri thrust her hand out, her palm hitting Shingo's chest just as his fist was about to hit her.

Time stood still… but nothing happened… and then Shingo's fist hit her clean in the face. Another and another came, the infamous "Burning Shingo"… Shingo smiling as he pulled back for the last blow. Yuri was staggering around… easy pickings. He wasn't much better off but…

_No… don't do this to me…_ Yuri thought, _Ryo and Robert have found incredible strength in themselves before… the next level… let…_ Shingo was about to hit her. _Let me have that strength too!_

"HAOH-_SHI_-KOH-KEN!"

True, Yuri was in no condition to create a respectable Shi-Koh-Ken. But the force that smashed into Shingo's chest just as his last blow connected to her face was enough. Shingo slid across the arena floor, the ground being torn up as Yuri began her slow, gradual fall to the ground, the young Japanese boy not even a split-second behind her in the descent.

In short, they hit the ground together.

A draw.

The refs looked around as the infamous Boss Team came into view… they were expecting their match… but who really deserved to win here?

Debates suddenly sprang up as different opinions were presented… Takuma's ironically celebrating the fact another one of his students had performed the infamous Haoh-Shi-Koh-Ken. The girl, barely conscious, found herself in the arms of Robert, Shingo still lying there before she called out for Ryo to help him up.

Goenitz suddenly winced… as if sensing something as the eventual decision was announced.

"We have come to a conclusion concerning this fight!" shouted one of the announcers, "Considering this is the Loser's Bracket and this is a double-elimination, meaning no 'third chance' and no tie-breakers… we declare… _Double Elimination!_"

Crowds suddenly began booing as Maki and Geese looked over at Leopold.

"Quetz… what is it?"

"We've got trouble here… serious trouble…"

As if responding to his remark, the sky darkened almost instantly, the refs looking around. Technically, the Boss Team would be up against the Team Fatal Fury next… and then the winner would go up against the Japan Team for the final round… but Billy and the others weren't here… and the final round wasn't scheduled until tomorrow.

The weather didn't make matters any better, so the tournament was suspended until the next day, something Geese was glad for as he walked away, wondering which hakama he'd wear in battle against the Japan Team.

"Quetz… Maki…"

"Yes?" they asked in unison.

"I'm going to head for home. Call me if you get any breakthroughs in researching this. Sound good?"

"Sure, Geese," Goenitz said in response, "We'll meet up with Chizuru after she's done visiting Vice and Mature and head back to the hotel."

He nodded and gave them a small salute, smiling. Those two… they certainly were close. Spending two years hunting down Chris, Yashiro, and Shermie could make two people form a relationship, and they certainly enjoyed that time together. Then there was Chizuru, Maki's little sister who certainly enjoyed life to the fullest and was overjoyed with Celia and Emily's return. And of course, they were good friends with Leona too… the youngest of the four yet possibly the most mature.

True, those two secretaries had spent a great deal of time together with nothing but each other to trust in when they were in Rugal's clutches, but Leona herself had killed pretty much everyone she knew as a child and then deliberately joined a mercenary organization. Geese wondered if she ever wished to be a normal person… hell, she was younger than Kusanagi!

They all had reasons for doing this… helping out people escape from the Serpent Gods. How had he… a former crime kingpin been connected with such people? Why would he ever have a reason to help any of them? He certainly believed that science didn't have every explanation out there... although he was smart enough to know it explained many things quite well. But seriously… there was no monetary gain in doing any of this whatsoever, unlike when Goenitz had first made that deal with him what seemed like centuries ago.

"Geese."

Geese blinked, wondering where he was and who had called to him. He immediately found himself at home, the unusual, red eyes of Marie looking at his own eyes, a soft smile on her face that hid behind it the mind of an intelligent and poised woman… someone who had figured out who he had really been after a few hours together with nothing whatsoever than a name -which he'd taken from an arcade game- and a face that she probably had never seen before.

This was what he fought for.

Moving in, he kissed her warmly on the lips. "Marie, it is very good to see you."

* * *

"You thinkin' it's time yet?" Ash asked, irritated.

"Not at all," Elisabeth responded. "We keep waiting."

"But-"

CRACK!

"We wait."

A/N: Two fights. Two fights remain in the King of Fighters 1997. Yet all Hell will break out before they are over and done with, and the fight that Geese Howard will find himself in will test _everything_ he has learned since he reformed. And the question he may not be around to answer is Can you Atami Nage a Psycho Crusher?


	53. Can you Atami Nage a Psycho Crusher?

A/N: You know… the sad thing is that I've been working on KoF '97 for a good half-year now… it's a shame how slow my updates have gotten. And with college coming up in just a few short weeks, updates are going to be even slower, most likely. And with "Intense Clash" going, the wait might be pretty long for updates. Oh well… I'll do what I can. In other news… I don't gave a damn if you don't know a thing about Getter Robo or Mazinger Z or any other giant robot of death. Super Robot Wars reverse gang-rapes Fire Emblem, Shining Force, and Advance Wars in _every single way_. You are all to play it, _and like it_.

"This is fantastic! Just fantastic!" Takuma humorously shouted as tears went were streaming down his eyes, Ryo, Yuri, and Robert standing in front of him, injured but at attention at the dojo. "You three… learning and successfully performing the Haoh-Shi-Koh-Ken! Fantastic!"

"Well… thanks, dad…" Yuri said, "But we ended up losing again…"

"But you're not looking at all the details of the finish… just your place in the tournament!" Takuma said, looking just as goofy. "First of all… you have shown the world once again the glorious might of Kyokugenryu… second, and more importantly…" He hunched over, showing his back to the three of them. Ryo, Yuri, and Robert suddenly began sweating profusely… knowing what was about to happen. The three of them began inching out the doors, Takuma muttering "now… where was it?"

Ryo blessed his lucky stars, they were at the door. Now just to quickly slip out and-

He gripped the doorknob… but it didn't turn… and then a nearby window was opened up and a certain, blonde-haired bartender stuck her head in.

"Oh… sorry about that… but you three need to listen… besides, Ryo… you owe me for when you when you beat me in '94, Robert, because you beat up Yuri then… and Yuri?"

"You'll save me, King?!?" Yuri pleaded, seeing Takuma come back into the room with a certain dangerous object in his hands.

"No… this is for leaving my team!" She shut the window, the three members of the Kyokugenryu Team turning back to see not Takuma there… but the infamous Mr. Karate.

"EXCELLENT!" the mask man boomed, "But Kyokugenryu has no limit… and so we train anew after each victory!"

The three of them slumped over…

Life officially _sucked_.

* * *

The stadium was packed again… the final battle of the Loser's bracket about to begin… pitting the Geese Howard's team against, ironically, the team of his bodyguard. Team Japan was already preparing in the locker rooms, and as Kyo sat there, knowing full well there was only one other warm body within thirty feet of him, he wondered if anything… _unexpected_… would happen.

_Nah…_ he stood up, sending out a few burning punches as a warm-up.

"Kyo." Iori's voice was neutral, as usual, as Kyo turned to his unlikely partner. "We settle this after the final match… okay?"

"Sure… to the death or what?"

Iori didn't answer at first, instead walking past him to the door. "I would rather piss on the Yasakani Magatama than be responsible for losing a worthy rival. Take that remark however you want it." He opened the door, then slammed in shut afterwards with enough force that it echoed in Kyo's ears for a solid minute afterwards.

After weighing Iori's words, Kyo smiled, shrugged, and walked off. "Well then… if that's the case…"

"You know… we really shouldn't have drawn straws…" Billy sighed as he leaned against the wall with Mary, watching Joe fight for his life against Goenitz. Mary was leaning on Billy for support, his arm around her shoulder as Geese and Maki sat on the other side of the arena, just wishing for the fight to be over. Not like Joe was being humiliated or anything, but the fight had still been one he had been slowly losing.

"RAAAAAHHH!!!" Joe screamed in frustration, punching as fast as he possibly could, Goenitz forced on the defensive and having no opportunity to channel up tornadoes or any other offensive measure. Yet the older man was quite adept with defending himself, his hands parrying each blow Joe sent at him without too much effort.

Now, blocking a Tiger Kick was a lot more difficult, and Goenitz unfortunately was knocked backwards. Grunting in pain, he grabbed Higashi's leg and threw him up into the air before channeling forth a large and imposing tornado and Joe was trapped inside. Spinning absurdly fast in the air, Goenitz let gravity take care of the dirty work as Joe fell.

Surprisingly, Joe grinned during his descent, punching into the air as a golden-tinted tornado appeared around him. Goenitz was impressed by the measure, even more so as Joe lunged at him and kicked him in the side of the head. Goenitz leaned with the attack to soften the impact before grabbing Joe by the neck again. His other hand pounded into the kickboxer's gut, Joe careening away as Goenitz lunged at him.

"NEO YA OTOME!" Goenitz shouted, slashing and pounding into Joe in a manner very similar to Iori's, although instead of a grab and explosion for an end, Goenitz had something more appropriate…

One big-ass tornado that knocked Joe into the air, and this time he didn't have the strength to reverse the ploy.

"WINNER!" the ref shouted, pointing to the victorious Serpent God, "Leopold Goenitz!" Billy and Mary didn't seem upset… after all, Geese would only enter this if he needed too. So, they hesitantly walked over and grabbed Joe, carrying him off.

And the battle was set… the Japan Team versus the Corporate Boss Team… the referee had announced a ten minute break for the teams to prepare themselves before the final match… one that Geese was very much looking forward too. Finally… he could settle this problem, defend his title from '93… and get this whole Serpent God problem out of the way so that he could focus on Terry Bogard again… who incidentally still had one Jin scroll.

* * *

"Hey there, Kusanagi-san!" a certain voice said as Kyo slumped down in embarrassment. The lobby he was standing in wasn't exactly empty, but he saw Shingo, Benimaru, and Sie all begin moving towards him, Kyo's "student" charging him full speed.

However, Kyo was not in the mood for being glomped, and repulsed the overjoyed boy with an Orochinagi. Shingo barely jumped away in time, and Kyo finally got a good look at him, bandaged and bruised from his struggles earlier against Yuri.

"Did you see it?!? I actually beat some people!" Shingo said with shimmering eyes, hoping for nothing but a word of approval from his master.

"Yeah, but Kisaragi sorta humiliated you…" Kyo pointed out as Sie and Benimaru finally were close enough for them to talk to each other without screaming. "Hey there, Polnareff-head," Kyo said as he playfully pounded his fist into Benimaru's, although the blonde looked confused.

"Polnareff? You mean that musician guy?"

"No… another one…" Kyo started to say, "I thought I say him somewhere but…" he shook his head. "I saw you beat Clark. Sorry about dropping you, though."

"Why?" Benimaru said with a grin before hooking his elbows around Sie and Shingo's necks and bringing them close to him. "If it weren't for these two losers here, I wouldn't have been able to set my fighting record straight. All I need to do is beat the tar out of your Kusanagi ass and I'm good!"

"Air… can't…" Sie panted as he managed to psychically grab a conveniently-placed Jaws of Life and pry himself free of Benimaru's grip before saving Shingo, who was now blue in the face. "Uh… Kyo…" Sie said as he started feeling a bit of sweat build up. "How's Athena been doing and all?"

"Athena?" Kyo said with a grin. "She's great… really sweet and with a good sense of humor and-" He stopped. He didn't need to be psychic to know that Sie had been hoping for a one-word answer. Kyo put his hands on the boy's shoulders and tried to cheer her up. "Hey, I know a lot of my fans out there, and maybe I can introduce you to one of them or something. You're not some space-filler out there in the tournaments… you've just got a bit of bad luck. I mean… Iori… well… he's a goddamn machine in battle. Then again, you fought him last year, so you know what I'm talking about."

"Yeah… I do… sorta…" Sie said, recalling how his Serpent God powers had been brought to the forefront then. He just wished that Leona -or somebody else- had sat him down and explained what they were and all. "But… just treat her right… okay?"

Kyo nodded. "Sure. She's not going to be running away in tears, if that's what you're hoping for." He turned to Benimaru and grinning. "After my little scuffle with Iori we're planning after this match, I'll take you on again, Beni. Shall we…?" He raised his hand, as if to shake Benimaru's hand.

"Sie… Shingo… please take a few steps away from us." Benimaru's request was a simple one, easily achieved. He then raised his hand to shake Kyo's as well, right before their left arms shot up and they punched each other in the nose.

"Dammit… you've definitely gotten better," Kyo said amidst a nosebleed. "Almost broke my nose…"

* * *

As Athena sat back, listening to a catchy J-Pop tune on her CD player, she double-checked the time. She still had about three minutes before the fight would actually begin… enough to continue relaxing, but she should actually start heading towards the arena, however.

"ATHENA!!!" shouted a young boy as she turned as saw Kaoru running towards her, Bao on her shoulders. She smiled, the boy was still very young, but nevertheless showed great promise with his psychokinetic powers.

"Hey there!" she said with a smile. "I didn't know Master Chin let you off training… you should have called!"

"Well…" Kaoru said with a grin on her face, "He let Chin come and cheer you on, and I arranged transportation!"

"Thanks!" Athena said before checking her watch again. "Oh man… I'd love to stay and chat, but I need to get going for my match!" She took off running, Kaoru and Baoh watching her for a moment and waiting before she got out of earshot to speak.

"You think she has powers like Sie?"

"Possibly… we'll have to wait before reporting back."

* * *

"So… which one of us is going to do this?" Kyo asked as he, Iori, and Athena stood there, seeing that their opponent would be none other than Geese Howard. 

"I can," Athena answered, "That way, you two will be in your prime for your match afterwards. That okay?"

Kyo didn't seem worried with his girlfriend fighting… most likely because he knew how hard she could hit. Iori simply shrugged. "What do I care? I'm still going to fight Kyo nonetheless…"

Athena nodded and stepped up… the final match of the King of Fighters '97 about to begin. Geese looked at Athena for a moment before smirking.

"You think you can win this?"

"You're not that strong, Howard. And I'm just as experienced fighting as you are."

Geese did a few extra stretches before nodding. "Okay… prove it." He charged at Athena, swinging his leg out. Athena teleported away and fired a Psychoball at Geese, who simply countered with a Double Reppuken, the first one negating Athena's strike and the other hitting her. Kyo and Iori weren't worried, however, the battle was still young.

And there was always the Psycho Crusher… although Iori noticed a strange, bulky man in red with a cap with a skull on it in the audience, crying with what appeared to be a plasma monster, a veteran prosecutor, and a mad scientist. The sounds of battle caused him to turn back, seeing Athena on the offensive.

Geese was backing away from Athena as the girl sent a number of punches and kicks his way, jumping into the air and firing down a Shippuken at Athena. The psychic rolled forward, shooting up with a Psycho Sword maneuver, Geese _barely_ managing to bend his body enough away that Athena's attack missed. He hit the ground and quickly punished Athena for her mistake.

"RAGING STORM!"

His hands hit the ground as the cage-like attack burst free, hitting Athena on her descent. She yelped in pain, being blown back. Nevertheless, she got back up and took a deep breath. Psychic energy crackled around her as she felt her sore muscles relax and her injuries fade away.

Her eyes snapped open afterwards. "Geese… in five minutes... you will be overwhelmed by the power of the Psycho Crusher. And it will _hurt_."

* * *

"So _where_ are you taking us?" Shingo asked as Sie all but dragged he and Benimaru through the waiting room, looking around for someone… or possibly a group of someones.

"I… don't know…" Sie said, "It's confusing… I just have this feeling…"

"Like you went crazy again?" Benimaru asked. Sie shook his head. "Good."

"Kensou!"

He turned to see that Leona girl running towards him, being flanked by a tall man with short, white hair, and a woman that was _entirely_ too buxom, her hair hiding the upper half of her face. She stopped in front of him, looking around.

"Leona… what's going on here… who are these people?"

"Oh, Shermie and Yashiro… they're… connected to this whole situation."

"How's it going?" Yashiro said, glad that Benimaru and Shingo could maintain enough self-restraint that he wasn't going to need to whack them for looking at the wrong things.

"Fine," Benimaru answered. "I was wondering why we've been brought here and all… I mean… Sie has no clue why… do you?"

Leona shook her head. "No… it's odd. I don't understand why right here… it's just part of the lobby for the stadium… unless someone important to this whole situation is here…"

"Well… we just have to keep our eyes and ears open then, right?" Shermie said with a smile before everyone looked at her, confused. "What?"

"That coming from the woman who shouldn't be able to see at all?"

"Oh… yeah…"

* * *

Meanwhile, the figure of Yuki Kushinida, hiding behind a bench, breathed a sigh of relief. That… had been _entirely_ too close.

"One minute remaining…" Athena said as she rolled away from Geese, countering his Ressatsu with a Psychoball. Her expressions seemed… _colder_… and then she smiled. "Showtime." Again, a dark and malevolent aura surrounded Athena as she launched herself at Geese, the audience screaming in fear… ironically for the health of the man that had tried to take control of Southtown what seemed eons ago.

"HOWARD!" screamed that red-clad man, "BEAT THAT COPYRIGHT INFRINGER!"

If Geese was scared of Athena's approaching body, he didn't show it. Geese wondered if he was even tricking _himself_ into not being intimidated by it. He couldn't block it. He couldn't overpower it with anything… or at least not be guaranteed it would work.

That left one thing, a single option.

Geese raised his hands in the trademark Atami Nage stance and took a breath… the only plausible part of Athena's body for him to grab would be her hands… this counter would require serious finesse.

But Geese grinned as he saw his potential death reach him. Why shouldn't he? He was badass Geese Howard.

As soon as Geese felt Psycho Crusher's power on his arms, he knew… _this_ was the moment.

He jumped in the air, spinning down so he could grab Athena, but changed his aim at the last possible second. He wasn't going to get the arms… he was going for the neck.

Athena tried to scream, her focus shattered instantly by the force that rivaled that of a metal clamp crushing down on her throat, her showstopping attack stopping instantly as Geese threw her up into the air.

"DEEEAAAAAAADDDDLLLYYYYY…" Geese began as he charged Athena's descending and shocked form, "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAVVVVVVEEEEEEEE!!!!" Punch after punch. Kick after kick. He gave Athena no mercy before finally tossing her battered and bruised body on the ground, silence among the team members of both groups, as well as the audience following.

Athena lay on the ground, fists clenched… eyes opened wide in fury… this… this wasn't possible… _You said… you said it would be enough! I need more! I NEED MORE POWER!_

… _Very well then._

A sudden pulse of energy nearly knocked Geese of his feet as Athena rose up again, Kyo and Iori looking at her in surprise as she raised her hand up.

"Geese Howard… you have been fortunate that you have identified four Serpent Gods and three of them have managed to shun the Momentum of Wills. That being said, YOU WILL NOT BE SO LUCKY AGAINST THE HYDRA! PSYCHO BLACKOUT!"

A/N: The previous Serpent Gods have had one thing on their mind when they've gone crazy… kill Yuki Kushinida. Oddly enough, however… Hydra has a different idea on her mind… because her goal is to Kill Chris.


	54. Kill Chris

A/N: It's been too long since an update. I blame Resident Evil 4… which despite being the bare-bones Gamecube version and with a Disc 2 that occasionally crashes once I get into the island fortress… kicks ass. The fact I am working towards the Chicago Typewriter and later the Handcannon does not bode well for further updates.

What the events that followed Athena's succumbing to the Momentum of Wills were long and interconnected… and the surprisingly short period of time that they transpired surprised Geese, Goenitz, Maki, and everyone else who maintained consciousness during more than anything they had seen in previous years…

However, later struggles would make the conclusion of the King of Fighters '97 seem quite tame.

As soon as that declaration had escape from Athena, a tremendous pulse of psychokinetic energy shot from her, a strange field of sorts suddenly springing up from around Goenitz and barely managing to grow enough and fast enough to envelop Maki and Geese as Athena's attack passed by them. Geese felt faint for a split-second, but fortunately didn't black out as the Serpent God charged at him, striking with a ferocity that Geese put a good level above anything Terry had managed.

"ATHENA!" Iori and Kyo shouted, all their focus on her. If they, or any member of the Boss Team for that matter, bothered looking into the stadium however, they would have seen every spectator fall unconscious… the intense psychic powers of Athena Asamiya more than a match for the strongest of wills. They ran at her, but a psychic barrier rose up, stopping them as she momentarily managed to knock Geese away.

Turning to them, Athena's eyes narrowed. "I still haven't forgotten our mission. I merely did this so as to better locate the Orochi… he's here, close."

"But Athena!" Kyo started.

"I KNOW WHAT I'M DOING!" Athena roared, her expression suddenly falling back in shock for a moment. _This… this isn't me!_ She could hear a voice telling her to kill Yuki… but she didn't see the need to denounce such a thing. She still thought of Yuki as a good friend, and besides, the other voice in her head all but drowned that one out.

You're still keeping your priorities on your mind… nobody is going to die today but the Orochi. Without his Heavenly Kings, the Serpent of Fire can easily be slain by Kusanagi and Yagami. Just let them know. 

Athena nodded, knowing Geese, Maki, and Goenitz were almost on her. "Psycho Uplink." She turned back to her adversaries, raising up another barrier that they helplessly and hopelessly struck against as Kyo and Iori took off running… their destination already in mind as Athena turned back to face her three opponents.

"Funny…" she sighed, shaking her dark-purple hair, "Quetzocoatl, if you had bothered not rejecting the Momentum of Wills… you and I could actually fight to a standstill… shame…"

A Ressatsu deflected harmlessly away from Athena as Geese charged… Athena though it odd and yet funny that the man that was in the most danger of being killed here was the one leading the charge. He might have escaped the Psycho Crusher… but Mr. Howard was living on borrowed time.

* * *

"WHAT THE HELL!?!" Leona shouted in frustration as nearly everyone in the lobby just suddenly just fell unconscious and collapsed, save for herself, Sie, Shingo, Shermie, Yashiro, and Benimaru… the six of them having congregated into a small group. 

"Uh… Leona… your hair…" Yashiro said, pointing at it… _The last time that happened…_

"Oh…" Leona said, looking at it again. The color had shifted, like before, from blue to red. "We've got trouble…"

"That's obvious…" Sie said, pointing as he saw two figures charged, stopping as they caught sight of the six figures standing there.

Kyo and Iori looked at them, seemingly normal, although Sie's eyes narrowed. "What the heck do you think you're going to achieve by killing the Orochi?" he spoke out, everyone looking at him. He seemed much more focused and disciplined now… and he figured they others would not be showing any immaturity in this situation if they knew what was controlling them.

In a way, he wondered if this was part of the spirit of Shesha, the Serpent God of Light, that remained after Leona had helped him reject the Momentum of Wills.

"What?" Leona said as she turned to Sie, the boy nodding.

"That's what they're going to do," Kensou plainly stated, Kyo and Iori not unnerved by his words. Purple and crimsons flames sprang up in their hands… the two of them exchanging glances before striking.

"Yagami…" Yashiro growled in frustration…

The attacks were _fast_, the quartet being paralyzed by Iori flames before Kyo's Orochinagi blasted them back into a wall. Presuming them out of commission, Kyo and Iori began running off…

"SHINGO KICK!"

Kyo turned just in time for his pseudo-protégé to kick him in the head as Benimaru charged Kyo as well. "LEONA, SIE! HANDLE YAGAMI… WE GOT THIS ONE!"

The two Serpent Gods, along with the Heavenly Kings of the Orochi, immediately took off after Iori, Kyo standing up and managing to dodge Benimaru's switchblade-fast kick before backhanding him away. As Shingo and Beni looked at their friend, he slowly spoke.

"I'll be damned… you're getting your fight anyways…" Flames burst up in his hands again, Orochinagis being launched at both Benimaru and Yabuki, the blonde-haired man launching a Raikoken to counter the attack while Shingo just raised his arms up for protection and prayed for dear life. It didn't do much, Beni sliding back and panting from the absurd heat as Shingo screamed out in pain, hitting into a wall.

"You always thought you were a worthy rival for me…" Kyo continued to say nonchalantly, Beni glaring at him. "I mean… you get your powers just goddamn _handed_ to you… you never worked for them at all… being disciplined for years and years! How the hell do you think that feels like… training for your whole goddamn life and merely being a few steps ahead of some idiot that was in the right place at the right time!?!"

He charged, roaring in frustration, punching fast at Beni's face. The Shooting fighter bent away in time, stepping backwards as Kyo kicked up at him. Beni grabbed him tight, unleashing a Neo Electrigger and hoping to calm his "friend" down.

No luck, Kyo igniting his whole body on fire and knocking Benimaru back before kicking him away in the head. He moved in for the killing blow with his rarely-used Shin Orochinagi, but was rammed from the side. He flipped away to cushion the blow, seeing Shingo standing there… defiant yet heartbroken.

"Heh…" Kyo chuckled as he looked at him. "And you… thinking you could be a student. First of all… you just suck! There's no way for a non-Kusanagi to wield our red flames… it's impossible!" He blocked Benimaru's attacks before throwing him to the ground. Kyo knew he couldn't move in for the kill, what with Shingo charging at him… but this fight was still as good as won.

"Kusanagi-san!" Shingo pleaded, "What's going on here! This isn't like you at all!"

"Well… technically yes and no," Kyo answered. "Normally I wouldn't be doing any of this whatsoever, but to make sure nothing would keep Iori or I from killing the Orochi, Athena ended up removing all our inhibitions. What I'm saying is pretty much things I've thought at one time or the other… so it's all the truth as far as I'm concerned." The exchange of blows that followed was short and pathetic, in Kyo's opinion, and Shingo sailed away again.

"You…" Beni only half-joked as got to his feet. "You are really getting on my nerves, man…"

"Tough luck," Kyo answered. "I'm doing this and there's nothing you can really manage to do."

"We'll fight," Shingo groaned as he pointed accusingly at Kyo. "In case you haven't noticed, the Orochi really isn't the biggest threat right now! Everyone else here has fallen asleep… and I'm betting Athena was responsible for that!"

"And if she was?" Kyo asked, raising an eyebrow. "Nobody else is going to die here. Hell, I'll probably just thrash you around a bit until you break down and cry and then meet back up with Iori. What's wrong with doing that?!?"

Shingo's mouth went dry as he tried to think up a rebuttal. He didn't know where the Orochi was at the moment, if he was really a threat… just so much…

"Kyo, Athena would only do this if it wouldn't be something you normally would do," Benimaru slowly said. "Therefor, it requires an amoral and objectionable action. Therefor, we have all the justification to fight you."

Kyo turned to him, snarling. "YOU DARE-"

"SHINGO KICK!"

Shingo's foot punished Kyo for his distraction, Kusanagi spiraling away as Benimaru kicked him twice in the gut before flipping into the air, a bolt of lightning shooting down and frying Kyo as well. Shingo unleashed his somewhat infamous Burning Shingo, punching Kyo in a successful string of attacks before Kyo caught the last blow, almost crushing Shingo's wrist with his grip before using an Orochinagi and blasting Benimaru away. Glaring at Shingo dead in face, the boy groaning and writhing, trying to escape, suddenly looked at Kyo as he spoke.

"You're weak. Even if you were born as a Kusanagi, you don't have the heart to use the flames."

Something snapped in Shingo, and he smashed his head into Kyo's. He wasn't sure if it hurt him more than Kyo, but it didn't really matter. He just needed an opening. "Fine then!" Shingo shouted. "I don't want to be connected with those flames if they're going to be involved in something like this!"

"Something you don't even understand?"

"I guess I'm just going to have to go with my gut then!" Shingo shouted. He punched at Kyo, who effortlessly dodged and rammed into Shingo, knocking him away.

"Shingo!" Beni shouted as he ran at Kyo again, punching at him very quickly. Kyo grunted as it smashed into the side of his face, his hands already pulling back for another Orochinagi as Benimaru zapped him again. This was really starting to get on his nerves…

"OROCHINAGI!"

He flung his hands out…

But nothing happened.

He looked down in shock before the words he had, to an extent, always been afraid to hear echoed in his ears.

"OROCHINAGI! BENIMARU-SAN… DODGE!"

He looked up just in time for Shingo to bake him with his own trademark attack… the crimson flames that had once been his now being used against him… with frighteningly effective results.

* * *

Iori knew that the Orochi was close… he figured it ironic that he, the loose canon of the Three Sacred Treasures, would be the one to bring about its death. They boy was close… the streets of Southtown were easy enough to navigate, in spite of the many bodies lying everywhere. 

_They'll be wondering what happened when they wake up…_ Iori smirked at the line, not knowing of the two figures watching from above, well away of the goings on which they incidentally created.

"Ash… everything set?"

"Yeah… but I'm surprised the Kusanagi flames were stolen like that…" Ash's mind seemed to be elsewhere even as he said those words… as if an idea had just been planted in his head. Could… could _that_ really work?

"Don't be surprised," Elisabeth answered. "The Kusanagi family, after the betrayal of the Yasakanis, thought it wise to have a safeguard in case one of their lineage succumbed to the allure of the Orochi. Hence, if any of them acted contrary to their duties, the power of the Kusanagi Sword would jump to the closest and most convenient host."

"So… Yabuki…"

"Merely at the right place at the right time."

"Huh…"

Below them, Iori was nearing the "safehouse" in which Chris had been stored… all part of the plan. Although the blackout had not been predicted, the fact that Serpent Gods and users of the Three Sacred Treasures, along with anyone close enough to them, were the only ones not effected had its benefits.

The others would probably catch up to Iori any minute, but well before he would have at least one attempt on Chris's life. The Orochi, knowing full well his life wasn't worth repeating history, would choose death over the Momentum, but Elisabeth strongly suspected it wouldn't come to that.

Or at least she hoped that.

_

* * *

So help me god, I am going to give that woman a piece of my mind after this…_ Chris bitterly thought. Blanctorche had decided it wasn't good enough to just store him in a warehouse… _no……._ then he might try to run rather than face his quarry. Instead, he was in a fireproof straightjacket, tied to a chair with bindings on his arms and legs. _I will _never _listen to a girl that uses a riding crop _ever_ again, no matter how much hentai she gives me._

The door suddenly burst open behind him, Chris cursing that he couldn't even turn his head around. "Uh… Elisabeth?"

Nothing. The footsteps that followed echoed through the otherwise empty building grew nearer or nearer… Chris realized he was sweating from the tension… he was about to die right here… wasn't he?

A finger pressed against the back of his neck, his breath leaving him in an instant as a slow and arrogant voice echoed.

"You know what the _best _thing about this is?" Iori said with a grin. "Normally the Orochi would just be sealed away… not this time. You're going to be killed by your own pet project, kid!"

"I'm not the same Orochi," Chris responded. Iori smashed his fist into the back of his neck, knocking him forward.

"LIKE I GIVE A DAMN!?!" Iori shouted. "There's still the principle of the situation! The Yasakani family, doomed that with each new generation, the mother dies from childbirth and the father is killed by his own flesh and blood, a single descendent having to carry on the legacy, knowing anything you do could bring about your own goddamn death anyways… damning you if you do or don't!"

"THAT WASN'T ME!"

Iori smashed his foot into the back of Chris's back… he didn't even need to burn him for this. It would be much more satisfying to just beat the living shit out of the Orochi with his body… deny him the right to feel the same flames that the Orochi, so many centuries ago, had given to the Yasakani.

The door slammed open, Iori turning to see Sie, Leona, and the other two members of that damn band there… about to lunge at him as he reached down, smashed the chair apart with one blow, and picked up Chris. The Swiss boy was doing all he could not to thrash around and panic… but it really wasn't that easy.

"Next asshole moves, and the kid gets it."

The four of them looked on in frustration and anger… Iori surprised to see small hints of electricity crackling from Shermie's clenched fists. As soon as they didn't expect it-

"SAN RI NO FU JIN!"

Iori spun around, seeing that Chizuru girl charging at him… no, _two_ of them, one on the left, one on the right. The distraction and confusion cost him _dearly_.

"UNMEI NO YA!"

Right before the two Chizurus neared him, a blast bolt of electricity shot down from the air into Iori, loosening his grip as he was immediately punched square in the back by Sie, Leona, and Yashiro. He skidded across the ground, scowling as he got up and turned around.

There was no way he could conceivably survive this… _unless_…

Hunching over… Iori humorlessly laughed once again at the irony of it all. No inhibitions made this so much easier.

Roaring like a psycho, Iori charged again, his eyes glazened over, attacked at Chizuru like a wild beast. He heard shouts and battle cries, and he was sure he had already been injured… but it mattered not.

The only thing that did was that there was much blood to be spilled right here, right now.

A/N: One chapter left before this arc ends… and I'm determined to get it out before Sunday when I head off to Akron. Three intense struggles rage as Geese and company try to save the world, as well as a young boy in The attack of lamentation.


	55. The Attack of Lamentation

A/N: Okay… so this chapter is a week late. Is that really so bad? My laptop is running smoothly, I've got a king's ransom of J-Pop on it already, as well as "Eye of the Tiger", and I'm only one chapter away from finishing the King of Fighters '97. Thankfully, '98 will take a much shorter period of time to write, since the only plot-important part of it is the very end.

The surprise and joy of finally using crimson flames had been more than Shingo initially thought he would ever get over. But realizing the situation he was in… fighting against his master, knocked him back into focus just in time for Yabuki to block a near-fatal strike aimed at his throat.

Shingo jumped to the right as Kyo smashed his fist into the ground, Benimaru seizing the opportunity for a flurry of kicks that miraculously knocked Kyo back.

Kyo growled in frustration, _Yabuki stole my goddamn flames!_ He didn't know how, all he knew is that it infuriated him more than anything else… 

Although he did have to admit, he expected some revelation along these lines to have driven Shingo into one of the trademark "anime rants" where a loser character would be celebrating a slight breakthrough in a stupid manner… which Shingo wasn't doing in the slightest.

* * *

"REPPUKEN!"

"KAZEKAGE!"

A tornado burst around Athena, throwing her off her bearings as Geese's signature projectile rammed into her. Not like it really hurt that bad, but it cost Athena several seconds in which Maki suddenly appeared in front of her, the miko moving her hands in some strange, graceful way that caused Athena to suddenly yelp out as she stumbled backwards, humorously hitting her rump on the arena floor.

The action, however, did not elicit any chuckles from the trio around her as they moved in for the kill… well, a few hard knocks to help knock Asamiya back to her senses.

. "SHINING CRYSTAL BIT!"

Tremendous psychic energy blasted all three of them away. Athena promptly pointing at their descending bodies… 

And then they vanished. She blinked… she couldn't believe she had fallen for-

"MIGHTY RAGING STORM!"

A Serpent God normally possessed powers surpassing that of every human, especially when the Momentum of Wills was taken into account. Yet with this power came the pride that no matter how strong one's opponent may be, they could not be a threat.

So Athena did something very stupid: let Geese's attack hit her, expecting the injuries to be minor and strip away all hope from the group. And that pride certainly hurt severely as she was blasted backwards a good couple of feet, although she otherwise suffered no serious injuries.

Before she could attack, however, Goenitz grabbed her from behind and blasted the Serpent God with a tremendous tornado, Hydra spinning into the air as Maki jumped at her, stringing a graceful series of attacks that sent Athena hitting into the ground.

On pure psychic force, she rose back up, bruised but more irritated than anything else.

"You three… I despise you more than anything else… even the Orochi wouldn't give me so much trouble in a one-on-one fight…"

"Funny," Geese answered. "I expected a Serpent God that would succumb to the Momentum of Wills to be overwhelmed with killing Yuki Kushinida."

Athena shrugged. "Yuki? She's… not important, or at least not at the moment. I see no reason why I should worry about it."

"Not at the moment?" Maki asked, raising an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Athena charged at them, pulling back a fist and striking at Maki. The elder woman went onto the defensive as Leopold shouted to her, running to her defense, but a psychic barrier blocked him off from Kagura. A flurry of Ressatsu shots bounced harmlessly off the wall, and Maki was alone… facing the pure brutality of a Serpent God.

The hammering blows came fast and were painful… leaving Kagura on her knees and exhausted after a handful of moments, Geese and Goenitz's shouts at Athena to stop falling on deaf ears.

"Be that as it may…" Athena said as she turned away from the brutalized Maki, who collapsed forward. Her eyes were glazed over, the pain overwhelming. "I am the Serpent God of Life… it would not be appropriate for me to kill or allow death to any except my enemy… the Orochi."

Looking at Geese and Goenitz, she raised her hand, pointing a single finger into the sky. "You, as much as I hate you, will suffer nothing worse than a humiliating defeat that may or may not destroy your will to live."

"Geese…" Goenitz said as he clenched his fists, "Maki might-"

"Quetz, get her out of here." Geese said as he looked at Maki's bloody form. "Get back as soon as you can, but don't panic. Get her safely away." He charged at Athena, who was again crackling with psychic powers. "AND KNOW FULL WELL THAT I'LL STALL FOR AS LONG AS POSSIBLE!!!"

The Serpent God of Wind ran past the two of them as Geese engaged in a nearly suicidal battle, knowing that his next moments might just be his last…

* * *

"Dammit… I wasn't expecting this…" Elisabeth said as Iori's berserker form struggled against the combined might of Shermie, Yashiro, Sie, and Leona. The four defenders of Chris each possessed injuries from the battle, Yashiro's shirt ripped in numerous places where Iori's clawing had left numerous wounds, for starters. Shermie's face was significantly bloody, her left hand clutching her right shoulder. Chizuru seemed the most injured… she was on her knees half the time, panting desperately. Leona and Sie did not appear as hurt, but the numerous bruises and scrapes were noticeable to even a casual observer.

Chris himself was lying on the ground… Iori's occasional offensive that broke through the countless countermeasures having been enough to knock the boy unconscious.

Iori himself was wearing a disheveled shirt, his growls and utterances now from pain as much as rage…

It was a stalemate, and as Ash and Elisabeth watched from above, the Frenchwoman cursed their luck. At this rate, Chris wouldn't get into a situation requiring him to reject the Momentum of Wills, and it was likely one of the five would die before things cooled off. A white flame erupted in her hand, Blanctorche preparing to introduce a sorely needed break in the stalemate when all of a sudden Ash grabbed her by the sleeve.

"You can't!" Ash said, nervously, but with a hint of irritation in his voice. "What makes this any different than the situation with Wyler?!?" The sting from Elisabeth's crop squarely hitting his eye still tingled sometimes when Ash thought about it.

Elisabeth pulled herself out of Ash's grip and then looked at him. "That was a situation that I was confident would resolve well on its own… as it did."

"And you don't have the same feeling about this?" Ash growled.

"That time, all that needed to be done was knock a little sense into Leona. All of them together would chew through Wyler's forces irregardless of if they had a Serpent God to worry about. Against Shesha, Leona knew exactly what to do to make him calm down. But this…" she turned, watching them fight again. "This is going to end badly no matter what. But since they can't really afford to focus on anything other than the fight…" before Ash could stop her, a blast of flame melted a support structure's braces, causing it to fall.

"This is the best way to handle this situation, Ash."

Said metal construction fell, crushing Chris before anyone realized it.

* * *

Geese staggered away… wondering how in god's name he had stayed on his feet for so long. It had seemed like eons since Maki and Goenitz had gone out of eyeshot… the Hydra delivering punishing blow after blow.

The Atami Nage most likely was the sole reason Howard was still alive… and even then, the infamous technique that had enabled him to overcome challenges in the past merely enabled him to delay the seemingly inevitable: a painful death.

The psychic teleported, jumping from his left to right and back again, using the distraction before blasting Geese halfway across the arena with a flurry of Psycho Balls.

Skidding across the ground, Geese really was wondering where Maki and Goenitz were. He could very easily end up being crippled for life if this continued.

"Howard…" Athena said as Geese slowly rose up, trying to regain the mere ability to see straight. "At this rate…" she sighed, shaking her head. "You are not my true enemy here. Call it quits. I can't permit myself to act in this manner any more without saying that."

"If…" Geese panted, "If I surrender… will I…?" he choked, Athena moving her head sideways, confused.

"What?"

Geese coughed again, Athena walking towards him. "Speak up."

"If…" Geese slowly announced… "if I surrender…"

"Continue already," Athena ordered.

"Will… will I ever-" His hand grabbed her leg, throwing the Serpent God into the air. "FORGIVE MYSELF?!?" A Ressatsu blasted into Athena, knocking her into a wall. Geese didn't expect that she was dead or anywhere near dead… _But…_ Geese thought as he fell to one knee, already seeing Athena emerge from the wreckage and begin walking towards him again, _I don't think I can…_

Suddenly Athena charged… Geese wishing he had the strength to dodge to the side… but he lacked the strength at the immediate moment. Yet Geese blinked as Athena jumped over him, punching into the ground a few feet away before shaking her head in confusion.

"What?!?" she said as Goenitz rammed into her by the side, slashing and hammering her with a flurry of attacks.

Geese turned, seeing Maki stand there, bandaged but on her feet and ready to continue. "Sorry it took so long… we figured a few more minutes in exchange for breaking into a pharmacy and stabilizing my condition was a better course of action."

* * *

"YASAKANI… THIS IS THE FINAL MOMENT!"

"KUSANAGI, I KNOW THAT!"

Chris blinked, wondering where he was… this seemed so… antiquated… Two men stood before him, vaguely resembling Iori and Kyo, locked in battle against a white-haired, shirtless figure with a strange, almost sun-like black tattoo image on his shirt.

"This is your fate."

Chris turned, seeing another one of the white-haired figures standing to his side, watching the battle. "Time and time again… the same battle… your same fate. Over and over again… to try to save the world, only to die by the power of the Three Sacred Treasures…"

"Not this time," Chris responded, staring at the visage of the Orochi. "I'm not doing it… I'm not going to succumb to the Momentum of Wills."

"You don't have a choice in the matter," the Orochi responded. "This time… hesitancy is not an option!"

"What are you talking about?!?" Chris shouted. "In case you haven't noticed, most of the Orochi have ended up as complete psychos! The Yagami family exists only as one member, maybe two at best, at any time! Yamazaki was a total psycho… and Vice and Mature were downright insane before Maki treated them!"

The Orochi shrugged. "I have only ever wished for the planet's well-being. The situation that presents itself with each of our returns paints a further and further disappointing picture… and time is running out."

"What do you mean?"

that _man… Howard… this world has only twelve years left. A terrible evil that was to have been quelled, or at least suppressed, has already awakened."_

"Fine then… but I'm going to fight against it my A blue flame burst up from the wreckage just as feelings of defeat and shame had overwhelmed Leona and the others, an imposing and masculine figure standing up from the rubble. As Iori seemed horrified, Chizuru and the others on the ground became nervous while Elisabeth grinned. 

Panting, the figure pointed at Iori, charging at him. "RETURN TO NOTHING!"

The tremendous blast of energy caused Yagami to fly into the wall, slumping down as the berserker finally lost all sense of remnants of strength.

"Chizuru…" he spoke, turning to the younger Kagura. "He's knocked out… can you try to get rid of Athena's influence on him?"

She blinked… and slowly, Yashiro spoke for everyone there.

"Chris?"

He nodded. "Yeah… guess Leona's changing hair color doesn't look so crazy anymore… eh?" They all looked at him, and then slowly Shermie strolled up to him…

And pinched his cheek.

"SHERMIE!!!" Chris shouted out as she smugly grinned.

"Okay… you're Chris alright…" the Frenchwoman said. "Now let's take care of the real problem here!"

"Athena," Sie and Leona responded.

* * *

"You three…" Athena panted as the stalemate continued. "I can't believe I'm saying this but-"

"HYDRA!"

_That voice…_ She turned to see, standing there, Leona, Sie, and…

"Orochi…" Goentiz, Geese, and Maki said in unison.

"Athena, surrender," Chris stated plainly. "You're under the Momentum of Wills… this isn't what you'd do on your own…"

"Shut up…" she growled.

"Four Serpent Gods are accounted for… there's no reason to fight against the Orochi!" Leona pleaded.

_She's lying…_ the voice told her.

A hand fell on her shoulder, trying to sooth her desires to end the life of the Serpent God of Fire's life.

"Athe-"

"NO!" she turned, already lashing and psychically lashed out, blasting her newest enemy. The others, even the Serpent Gods, were her inferiors since they lacked the Momentum of Wills. Blood splattered everywhere… and then she realized who she was looking at.

"A… Athe-" Kyo's voice failed him… he felt so weak as he looked Athena dead in the eye.

"K-Kyo…" She couldn't believe it… she had… "Kyo… KYOOOOOOO!!!!!" She grabbed him, clutching him tight, feeling the life flow out of him in spite of everything.

They theink you have slipped… ki-

NO! GET OUT OF MY HEAD! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Everything around her was gone… all she found herself doing was screaming at Kyo not to die. "Kyo…"

His eyes opened halfway as he stared at her, smiling weakly.

"Hindsight… being 20-20, eh?" He closed his eyes again, his breathing shallow.

"Kyo… KYO!!! DON'T DIE!!!"

: The aftermath of the King of Fighters '97 leaves several figures in critical condition, and unfortunately, the powerful criminal organization NESTS makes its move then. The world has been saved for another year… and at long last Terry Bogard decides to unleash the power of the Jin Scrolls on the world in 


	56. Life goes on

A/N: After the battle, naturally comes the aftermath… and _many_ tears shed. Oh, and in other news, the world will end when Geese Howard pits his Deadly Rave against Kenshiro's Hokuto Hyakuretsuken, not because one would lose to the other, it's just the pure awesomeness of each move would be too beautiful for this world and therefor end it, creating a far better world afterwards.

The world was dead to Athena… there was Kyo, on the ground, having suffered for all her hate and rage. The one person she had vowed to do all this for… was practically dead. Athena wept bitterly, closing her eyes and focusing, remembering how she had helped refresh him before their fight in '94… but she then howled out in frustration. It was gone… she… she felt powerless, helpless…

Those powers were beyond her now as she futilely struck the ground. "Psycho Soldier"… yeah, that was a damn twisted joke… correct in more ways than one. Then there was a hand on her shoulder again, and the only thing Athena thanked was that she had enough semblance not to lash out like some goddamn child.

"We can't save him…" That was Sie, "If you don't let us…"

Athena turned around, seeing the ensemble of men and women standing against her. Even the notorious Geese Howard had abandoned any vestiges of a combat stance. Their eyes painted a picture of not just pity, but shock... and Athena knew exactly what she had to do. With as stiff an upper lip as she was able to summon, she turned and slowly walked away, knowing full well she would never see any of these people ever again.

* * *

"How bad are they?" Geese asked as the paramedics loaded Kyo and Iori into the ambulance. The man sighed, shaking his head. "Give them the best, I'll front the bill."

"Thank you sir." The medical crews nodded before slipping into the ambulance and driving away.

Geese turned and walked back to join Goenitz and Maki, the other competitors having already said their farewells before leaving, if on a slightly sorrowful note.

"Five Serpent Gods down… two to go," Leopold sighed. "Of course, with wielders of the Yasakani and Kusanagi Sacred Treasures aren't exactly in perfect shape."

"It's okay," Maki pointed out. "The danger of the Orochi's been nipped in the bud, hopefully. If not, at least for this lifetime. The medics said they were stable, correct?"

"Barely," Geese corrected. "Anyways…" he sighed, checking his watch. "I think it's time to say our goodbyes, at least for the moment."

"Alright then…" Goenitz agreed, standing up. "Call if you ever need any help."

"Can do."

* * *

"Are you sure?!?" the tall and bulky man shouted as he grabbed on of his subordinates. He couldn't believe what he had heard.

"I'm sorry, boss," the smaller man stuttered, trying to keep from cracking. "I know the-the doctors said it wouldn't happen again but-"

Fate shook his head, letting the man go. "Let me see them."

The man slowly complied, leading Fate through a few rooms of their headquarters where two young boys were, seemingly sleeping on two cots. The lack of breathing, and the fact that this had happened once before, however, let Fate know whatever had triggered their coma before had occurred again.

"Alba… Soiree…" he sighed, "Why now?"

* * *

"Report," Zero commanded as he walked into one of NESTS stasis chambers. Numerous technicians rose up, looking at him and bowing for a moment before their leader spoke up.

"Thanks to a clever group of imposters, we've managed to secure the two necessary test samples. With both Kusanagi and Yagami, our cloning process finally has the necessary genetic coding."

"Good," Zero nodded, although the man in front of him suddenly became ill at ease. "What is it?"

"The… prototype Yagami clone has proved… far less restrained than the original."

"That's understandable. If it continues, let it go. No use wasting manpower and funds on something so risky and costly."

The technician suddenly breathed a sigh of relief before handing Zero the papers concerning the initial tests. "Although Kusanagi seemingly cannot create his flames at the moment, we have had success nevertheless in transferring the power to others. At the moment we have a number of various Kyo Kusanagi clones, most of them identical."

"And the _other_ test subjects?"

"Complete success in all regards," the man said proudly. "Complete memory erasure in the original, memory transplants in the clone of his sister, and all three are being closely monitored at the moment."

Zero nodded. So many gambles… and now all of them had paid off. A better world was only a few years away. "Good. Continue research on the Battle Data Analyzer… we need that prototype as soon as possible."

"Yes sir!"

* * *

Months slowly slid by, and Geese slowly began to relax again. His title had been defended, although it didn't really matter. No further news had sprung up in regards to Kyo and Iori's conditions, Asamiya had vanished from society's eyes, and life went on.

The incident concerning the King of Fighters '97 was hushed up mainly by the normal people, those that wished the tournament was nothing more than that. Geese didn't mind, because he did not consider it that important. The fact was, however, Terry Bogard was still out there and still had one of the Jin Scrolls…

Early the next year, Geese's preparation paid off considerably when he pulled out a particular letter from the family mailbox. Ripping it open, Geese's eye narrowed.

"So you finally are challenging me again, Bogard," he sighed, crumpling the letter up and throwing it away.

* * *

"So what's the big invite for?" Yuri asked as Ryo suddenly groaned and shook his head.

"You know that one stupid Japanese fighting circuit where it's essentially anything goes? 'Buriki One'?"

"Yeah…"

Ryo slid the letter across the breakfast table, where Yuri skimmed it and shook her head. "Oh god… Dad can't find out about this… no matter _what_, he can't-"

"Can't what?!?" Takuma said as he walked into the breakfast room, fresh as a daisy as the life was all but sucked away from his children. Noticing the letter, he quickly grabbed it, ignoring the screams and frantic attempts of Ryo and Yuri to escape, only to discover all the doors had magically locked. "'_Dear Mr. Sakazaki, it has come to our attention that you have had a very successful career as a martial artist. Due to lowered ratings on Buriki One, we feel a way to prove the show isn't fake were to invite a famous fighter such as yourself to Japan to partake in this competition you will be _fully reimbursed_ for participating in an exhibition match_', Ryo, this is perfect!"

He looked back to his children, both slumped down in submission and knowing there would be no escape. "Dad, those guys are complete hacks… it'd be amoral to go there and beat the tar out of them for money…"

"Are you crazy? Forget the money!" Takuma laughed. "Imagine… showing Japan the superiority of Kyokugenryu in contrast to all those stupid mainstream fighting styles! Can you just imagine the number of applicants we'd have?"

"Dad… finish reading, will you?"

Takuma threw up his hands. "You kids are hopeless…. '_However…_'" he continued, "_Due to certain necessary actions, we do request a little extra flair… such as participating under some sort of theatrical image… that alias of you father, would-"_

Takuma stopped, looking up at Ryo and then grinning.

Oh shit… this is worse than if he would have hated the idea… 

"Ryo, my boy, I think it's time for you to adopt the mantel… it's time for you to become… the new… MISSSSSSTEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRR KAAAARAAATTEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!"

* * *

"Shingo, wait up!" The boy turned to see Yuki running towards him, carrying a large pile of books and nearly fumbling them. "Could you… uh… help?"

Shingo sighed and quickly grabbed a few of them just as they fell, the two of them walking off to class together, remembering full well that Kyo wasn't with them… which downright sucked.

For the life of him, Shingo hadn't been able to channel Kyo's flames again, but he had given up on it anyways. His first year here at the prestigious M-- College had proven hard enough as it was…

"You're not swooping in on Kyo's girlfriend while he's MIA, are you?" Shingo spun around, nervously shaking his head when he suddenly realized Benimaru was standing there with a grin on his face and an envelope in his hands. "Yuki, you can head off to class… this isn't going to take long."

The girl ran off as Shingo wondered why Benimaru was here, unless… "Beni… have you been stalking me?"

"Only for the past five minutes or so, but that's not important," Beni answered, suddenly growing irritated and waving the envelope around. "Well, aren't you going to take it?"

Cautiously, Shingo took the letter and opened it, surprised to see the King of Fighters logo on it. "You're kidding me… there's doing it again?"

"Well, some private corporation tackled the whole bill, even decided for a little change of pace and made it two-man teams… seems like a much more laid-back environment too… Thought you'd be interested…"

Shingo smiled. "Thanks. I'll take you up on that."

* * *

"You're rather stupid to come here on your own, boy."

Terry snorted at the insult, looking at the man and cracking his neck. "You're an idiot, White…. that _is_ your name, correct?"

The bizarre man was unimpressed by the action as he and Terry sat facing each other, a table separating them. The current leader of Addis casually removed his gloves, although Terry showed no fear of a bloody death.

"There are currently two Jin scrolls out of our reach. However… we both have something of value. One one hand, I have the remaining scroll, hidden away in a location only _I_ know of. If you kill me here, you lose it forever. We also are both in possession, through actions of our subordinates, of information concerning the Jin scrolls.

"However," Terry continued with a grin. "I am fairly confident that we possess different pieces of information, that are still complimentary to each other."

"So what's your plan, Bogard?"

"To be honest," Terry began, "I fear my brother and I are beginning to have a… falling out. For that reason, I doubt the Shiranui clan would front the resources needed for me to organize a certain tournament here. Supply me with proper funding and the information I want, and I'll do the same."

White snorted. "Don't you think you're getting the better end of the deal?"

Terry looked at White and then shrugged, taking out a multitude of photos and slapping them down on the table. They all showed the same thing… pictures of a young boy, maybe fourteen at the very most, surrounded by numerous men.

"I believe a few years ago you had a little slip-up in regards to killing your private pilot in front of his grandson's eyes. 'Alfred'… I believe that's what he's called."

"Possible…" White mused. "What of it?"

"Don't try to hide your unease, White," Terry snapped. "This boy has beaten the living shit out of your corporation, or at least small niches of it. Yet he stays one step ahead of everything you try. You know how long it took to track him down?" Terry asked. He smirked.

"Three days. I knew where to look, because I can relate to him. A boy that's driven to kill a man that ruined his life. Something you can't understand."

"Come to think of it…." White slowly said. He picked up the photos, shuffling through them. "He seems to be a familiar face…" He slapped the photos down. "You can get me Alfred?"

"Well, possibly not 'get', per se, but put you in firing range, as it were. I mean, if he is aware that it's a trap… well, you lose your shot at taking down the greatest thorn in your organization's side."

"You… _do_ have a point there," White admitted. "Very well then…" he stood up and began walking away. "I expect to hear from you soon."

"You will. I assure you. Until then… good day."

* * *

The smoke curling away from the houses, the smoldering bodies strewn around the buildings, and the barely-twitching figure amidst the ruin all told Lin just one thing.

Long… that bastard had sold them out.

"They… he didn't do this alone…" the young man suddenly said, snapping Lin out of his shock. He looked at the dark-haired figure before him, who was coated in blood that was thankfully not his own. "Master Long… there were others with him. Four or five… two of them… I had seen them before."

"Other members of the Hizoku? They sided with Long?"

"Yes… he snapped. I thought-"

"I thought he knew where his loyalties were as well. I guess NESTS won him over with trivial offers of power…" Lin's eyes narrowed, the Chinese assassin knew this was not well. "NESTS will begin their bid for power now, that much is obvious."

Groaning in pain, the survivor handed Lin a scrap of paper. "Here… I talk to him online frequently…"

"Benimaru? A capable fighter, so I've heard," Lin said, folding the paper gently before helping the survivor up. "You sure you'll be okay, Duo Lon?"

The younger Hizoku survivor nodded. "Yeah… eventually…"

* * *

"The memory manipulation was a success, I presume?" the Zero clone asked as he sipped his coffee, watching three specific "clones" through the viewing glass. Two of them looked quite similar, white, bushy hair, with slightly tanned skin. The other was a girl with dark-brown hair and a surprisingly whiter complexion.

"Yes, sir…"

The clone smirked… while his original would no doubt have not wished for this kind of action, but he didn't care anymore. With Kyo and Iori properly sedated and under maximum security in a NESTS-controlled hospital hidden away with two clones back in a Southtown hospital to provide cover. Supposedly the injuries Kusanagi and Yagami underwent were enough to keep them under for quite a while.

Watching the specimens through the glass, the clone watched with interest… Krizalid and his original were fighting, arguing before the original was knocked to the ground, the crack of a whip from the girl keeping him down.

"Stay at your master's feet," Krizalid spat as K' winced in pain, Sarah standing beside him with a smug grin on her face. "No fucking clone can ever keep up with the original."

"That's right, brother," Sarah said as she leered at K', "He's just a crappy copy that can't even match your strength."

"Bastard…" K' muttered, rolling back to his feet and channeling crimson flames in his right hand, only to wince in pain immediately as he fell to the ground, Krizalid laughing.

"Like you can use the Kusanagi flames with any success to it?" Krizalid asked, his arms igniting as he grabbed K's neck and then punched him in the gut before flinging him away. "I don't know why your creators keep having these 'sessions', since you're too stubborn to ever take orders from anyone." He threw K' onto the ground and started walking away. "Oh… and another thing." He spun around, charged, and kicked K' in the gut. "Even _if_ I'm a bastard, at least I actually have things called _parents_."

Walking away, Krizalid left his clearly inferior clone on the ground.

"That one," the third figure in the observatory group said, pointing at the boy on the ground. "That's the one that I want to be my 'partner'."

Zero sighed. "Are you sure? K' is not exactly…"

"He's the one. Besides… it adds a nice 'Calculus' theme to us, right? Think of it… Maxima and K'…"

A/N: While Ryo is preparing to uphold the recent Kyokugenryu identity of "Mr. Karate" overseas, most of the other fighters have one of two choices presented to them… First, partake in one of the more-friendly King of Fighters '98, which boils down with an innocent little competition… for _once_. On the other hand, Terry Bogard has drawn the lines for his final battle against Geese Howard in Terry's Mayhem.


	57. And it begins again

A/N: College is hard. And I have no justification for almost two years of no updates for this… except one, other projects. Specifically, I'm undertaking new trilogy of original fiction on Fictionpress, the first part of it already completed and titled "Matei Mizuki". Give it a shot, if you have the time.

Geese came home early than usual one night in the middle of April, 1998, to see Marie looking at a calendar, marking a few things. The Hakkyokuseiken master would have spoken up to her, but Marie did not look in the mood for a sudden surprise. Instead, a sad look graced her visage as she crossed a line through a date in the middle of summer and set the pen down.

When she turned around, the mother of Rock Howard was taken aback to see Geese standing there.

"Are you okay?" Geese asked, realizing this method of asking her no doubt would be just as bad.

"Uh, it's nothing," Marie answered. "Just a long day and all. Incidentally, how does it look like for the King of Fighters Maximum Mayhem tournament?"

Geese snorted. "Bogard naturally wants one thing in this all; intimidation. The fact it's going to take place a few days before the King of Fighters '98 has also meant numerous participants have had to decide which to join. Last I heard, even reducing the team size down to two people still leaves them with only six teams. Oh well… at least it's just a few innocent companies in charge of it all this time. Good to know I can focus all my energies on Terry and finally settle this."

"How many for that tournament? Marie asked.

"Sixteen… it's not going to be easy."

Marie smiled and hugged Geese. "Don't sell yourself short. Bogard probably will crumple up into a pile of Jell-O the moment you start to say 'Mighty Raging Storm'."

"Good point," Geese answered. "Come on, let's go for a stroll."

* * *

"And… he's right in here," spoke the nurse as she led the young girl into the room. "Mister Kusanagi's kept heavily sedated to avoid putting too much stress on his body, we don't think he'll ever get up, at least not for a few more years. Kyo's nervous system was severely damaged by the attack… Yagami's in the next room; he'll be out in a few more weeks."

"Thank you," said the girl, smiling. Her clothing that once resembled that of a Japanese pop idol was discarded, now replaced with a very plain and drab choice of brown. Her once violet hair was now died and cut short to match her clothing as well, symbolizing that'd she'd carry on, but not as Athena anymore. "Could I… have a few moments with him?"

The nurse nodded. "Certainly, Miss Kido."

Athena smirked. The alias she had picked would no doubt cause many an otaku to chuckle, but it would work. She would have visited Kyo earlier, but basic necessities needed to be accounted for first. Any truly worthwhile job was out of the question; if she were to leave her old live behind, then Athena knew she had to also leave no way for her associates to come after her again; beg her to return for whatever reason. Thankfully, libraries weren't hard to come by, and she'd already found a very generous family in the northeastern United States willing to accept a tutor for their daughter.

The Ouroboros image on her left hand was bandaged up, her attempts to cut it out of her skin fruitless… otherwise there would be evidence that Athena Asamiya existed anymore.

"Hey, Kyo…" Athena said as she looked down at his sleeping form. "I… I'm glad you're going to be okay in the end. That's the important thing, isn't it?" She reached out, putting her hand on Kyo's chest. "Be happy with Yuki, Kyo… that's what-"

She froze… something suddenly coming to her. Athena Asamiya stumbled back… shaking her head twice before turning around and storming out of the room. She rounded a bend, heading towards the doctor's lounge, furrowing her brow in anger. Perhaps having her powers reduced was a _good_ thing… this situation required a great deal of finesse and if things were going to be levitating in the air and glass shattering, well, so much for strating fresh.

Upon seeing a doctor, Athena acted, slamming him into a wall and glaring at him dead in the eye. "Where the hell is the _real_ Kyo Kusanagi?!" she growled, her voice just loud enough for the man to hear.

The doctor swallowed nervously. "What… what do you mea-"

Athena slammed her fist into the wall beside him, leaving a crack. Maybe her strength wasn't as reduced as she had previously thought.

"Let me explain nice and slowly," Athena began. "That body doesn't know a thing about me. Second of all, it doesn't know a thing about the Kusanagi fighting style. And lastly, _what the hell is NESTS?_"

"I-I don't know what you're talking about, girl!" the man answered, although Athena knew better. She let go of the man, shaking her head and walking away.

"Forget it… I found out what I wanted."

* * *

"Ah… screw it…" King muttered as she slumped down in her chair, running through the expenses for her bar. Ryo had offered her a plane ticket so they could squeeze the Buriki One Federation for every penny they could, but unfortunately, business was booming… and King hated to leave Sally and Elizabeth to fend for their own with Duck King.

Then again, a vacation with Ryo was alluring, and Ryo had mentioned that he wanted to say something special to her.

A chime alerted her that someone had opened the front door, so the attractive Frenchwoman stood up and headed in, surprised to see Jean leaning against the entrance. "Hey, I know you!" King said to her younger brother.

"Well I should hope so!" he responded, pulling up a seat. "College is on break for two weeks, so I thought I'd pay a visit. You should see Professor von Karma…" he shook his head, "I never saw such an incredible lawyer have a breakdown. Then again… Pyron, Doctor Wily, and that Bison fellow aren't the best poker buddies."

"I'm sure," King remarked. "Well, I'm unfortunately debating about heading off to Japan for a few weeks…" she pointed at a flyer posted next to her bar license. It had pictured Ryo, dressed into a black gi, standing in a ring against two fighters that Jean didn't recognize. "Ryo's taking up an offer to go to Japan for this big exhibition match, although really it's his dad forcing him too. _Then_ when Yuri got the idea of me going with him, the whole damn Kyokugenryu horde was demanding it."

"Wonderful," Jean sighed. "Anything else?"

"Not really. The usual fair of fighting tournaments starting up, most likely with one of them nearly bringing about the end of the world with a horde of unscrupulous characters-" Another chime caused her to look up, and King's entire composure fell through. "Shit… speak of the bitch in the skimpy red tunic."

Jean turned around, immediately recognizing the woman who had walked into the otherwise empty bar.

"I saw the door open and thought I'd some in," Mai Shiranui said nonchalantly.

King scowled at her former teammate before standing up. "Jean, do you have housing taken care of yet?"

"Uh, yeah…"

She nodded. "Good. Phone me in a few hours, I'll come and visit. Until then-"

"Yeah," Jean said, walking out and past Mai as the two fighters looked at each other… tension becoming the principle element.

The blonde-haired woman waited until her younger brother was out of the bar before speaking. "So… what's the occasion?"

"Well, you _are_ team captain, so I thought announcing that I'm leaving the team would be wise decision."

"So you're _leaving_," King remarked. "As if you weren't kicked off the team or _anything_ like that. Then again, you probably didn't get the letter yet. I'm sorry, I'll make it first-class next time."

"Well, it's not like I'd be able to make it to this year's KoF…" She pulled out an envelope. "I decided to enter the Maximum Mayhem tournament, bury the hatchet with a few people. I decided to start with you."

"Kisaragi put you up to this?"

"Not really, but he certainly was great for bouncing ideas off of," Mai humorlessly chuckled as she looked around and found the closest chair to sit in. "Uh… may I?"

"Sure," King answered in a neutral tone.

Shiranui sat down, deciding that brutal honesty would not condemn her to a messy death. After all, the other woman in the room was one whom Terry Bogard did not think of as a close friend; she wasn't going to blab to him about this meeting.

"I feel… things are getting out of hand, honestly. Geese Howard didn't kill my grandfather, nor did his bodyguard, nor _anyone_ else connected with him or his company. I feel it's about time I focus on what's important."

"Killing someone I have no concern over and probably have never met or ever meet?"

"Exactly."

"Well," King sighed, "That's _still_ pretty amoral, and this could very easily be just a charade to lull me, Yuri, and company into a false sense of security. And knowing you, it's certainly possible."

"But it'll costs you nothing to at least assume that I have the best of intentions until I show my hand. At which point, if you deem I have been dishonest, you will be in a position to react to it. Besides, if down the road I need help and choose to do what you expect me to, then it robs me of the ability of requesting aid later on."

"Clever," the barkeeper responded. "Seems someone's been reading up on politics recently."

"I spent roughly a year and a half doing bodyguard work."

"I see… and when was this?"

"It just finished up."

"But-"

"So _help me god,_ King, the fourth wall is fragile enough around here. Just drop it."

"… If you insist…"

* * *

"Hello?"

"Hey there, Emily, how's it going?"

It took a moment for Mature to realize who was on the other end of the phone line. After all, she hadn't talked with her in more than half a year. But then the fond memories returned, and she couldn't help but smile.

"Vice!" she exclaimed. "It's been a long time!" The two secretaries had regrettably parted ways after the King of Fighters 1997, partly to piece their lives back together, partly to come to grips with their feelings towards each other. For her, Emily had used the time to mull over her feelings, get opinions from third parties, and get her life in order.

In the end, the blonde had made up her mind. There were many forms of love and friendship out there, and she had spent the better part of four years with Celia as the only person she could trust in. It was reasonable to believe she'd grow attached to the brunette over those years, and she did care for her. It was also reasonable to believe that with so many types of love out there, Mature could mistake one for another.

She loved Vice with all her heart. Her confession after they were nearly killed was the absolute truth. Hell, she probably was on that side of the fence too, or at least bisexual. But to love Vice in _that_ way, the romantic way, it wasn't her.

"Yeah, I know it's been awhile," Mature answered. "How've things been going for you since?"

The woman on the other end of the phone snorted. "Boring." Mature wasn't surprised. "I'm not saying I actually enjoyed the time working with Rugal, but the tedious nature of the daily grind is just… _bland_."

"Working for a subsidy of Kagura Corp.?"

"Tragically, yes. Same for you?"

"Yeah." Mature heard Vice sigh, as if trying to find the right way to say whatever was next on her little agenda. Finally, she decided to just let the blonde hear it. "Look… I was able to pull some strings and get us one of the six invites for the King of Fighters tournament. It would be nice… like, _really_ nice, to see you again."

…

"Mature? Mature, are you there?"

"What? Oh, yeah. Sorry… I just, wow, thanks…"

"You're not thinking of turning me down, are you?"

"Oh, no! Heavens no! I'd love to see you again. We really got screwed over in '96… and it would be nice to actually see what we can really do when we're not stuck up against a Serpent God."

"Sounds great. I'll put your name on the other one, okay?"

"Thanks, Celia. It really means a lot to me."

"No problem, Emily. We're a team, and we'll clean up good."

"Of course… it might be good to do some training, you know, meet and get a feel for each other's style again. Think you can find time next week?"

"Next week is no problem. See you then."

* * *

The world was going to end. There was no way around it. Every hope, every dream, everything… shattered.

"NO! YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS! YOU JUST-"

"_Sorry…_" Ryo sighed as he scooted past Kasumi Todoh in the bustling terminal. "But if we get held up much more than this, and we're going to be late."

"Ryo, I think that's the idea Kasumi has _in mind_," King answered as she slipped around the girl as well. Their flight to Japan for Ryo's exhibition match would be departing in _minutes_, and Takuma Sakazaki would not be one to allow an opportunity to show the power of Kyokugenryu to be missed.

"Then why'd you invite her?!" Ryo asked with a bit of irritation in his voice before the Frenchwoman turned back to Kasumi.

"I have my reasons. Go on and get on the plane," King answered back. "I'll be right behind you."

"Are you-"

"_Yes_, Ryo. You think I'd miss time with you _away_ from your family?"

"Good point. They can be scary-"

"KING!" Kasumi shouted, drawing the blonde's attention back to the other woman. "What's this about?!"

"Well, for one, I'd like some private time with Ryo," King answered. "And second of all, I thought I could call in a favor from you!"

"Since when do I owe you a favor?"

"Since I'm making you my partner in the King of Fighters '98, okay?"

"What? You're… you're really-"

King quickly snapped her fingers, getting the woman's attention. "_Focus_, Kasumi. I don't have much time before I gotta go."

"O…kay…"

"It's really basic. Just help out Duck and the twins down at my bar."

"You're crazy! I'm barely old enough to-"

"Doesn't matter. A fourth set of hands can help. Well, _fifth_, really… Yuri'll be helping out a little too when she has time. That's not going to be a problem, is it?"

"Uh, no… of course not."

"Thanks, Kasumi. I'll see you around, okay?" She smiled, and Kasumi couldn't help but do the same as well.

"Sure, I guess. Make sure Ryo comes back in one piece, okay? Just because, well, I'd hate to think he'd lose to a bunch of mixed-style losers."

"What, Ryo?" King laughed. "He'll break them in two! Be sure to watch the fight okay? It's being televised."

"No problem. I'll mark the date."

"Great. See you around, Kasumi."

"Same to you, King."

A/N: And with that, I've gotten the first chapter in a damn long time posted. WHOOOOO!! To tell the truth, about half of this thing was on the backburner for a long time, and I only started working on this and continuing it from about halfway into the conversation between Mai and King about a week ago. Nevertheless, after making Matei Mizuki chapters more than twice the length of this every week, it's good to be back, posting smaller chapters and using this story to blow off some steam. I'll be sticking with this no matter what until we get through all of the NESTS saga in 2001. Anyways, things are going to be pumped next week, when Ryo steps into the octagon and defends the honor of not just his school, but the dignity of his father. After all, he's Mr. Karate II.


	58. Mr Karate II

A/N: An apology is in order for not updating last week. My computer was in the shop. That being said, I still thought quite a bit about this chapter, and I hope you all enjoy it.

It was quiet, which Ryo thought to be brutally ironic. His gi's color, once a worn orange, had been exchanged in favor of jet-black. His father had been adamant; the mask could be left behind, but the black gi_ had_ to be worn. Ryo really didn't understand, but he really didn't need to. All that was needed was to shut up, agree, and get the hell out of Southtown.

In exchange, he got to spend about a week in Tokyo, all expenses paid by the Buriki One Federation, and time with King was always nice. Well, he'd have to beat the ever-loving tar out of the current title-holder and some up-and-comer by the name of Gai, but that was it!

And that fight would begin in no more than five minutes, with Ryo preparing himself mentally. His hands had the safety bandages on them, said gi had been pressed and cleaned, and he was prepared as well as need be. Under King's advice, Ryo had watched a few tapes of both Gai Tendo's and Silber's old bouts. It was going to be a challenge, if for no other reason than being a three-way battle, but the Raging Tiger knew he had faced far greater threats.

The door to the arena opened, and the cheers of the enthusiastic fans suddenly poured into the locker room. Two men in business suits came into view, letting Ryo know the time had finally come.

_King…_ the blonde smirked, _Enjoy the show_.

* * *

Standing in the octagon-shaped ring, the shouts of the fans were even greater than ever before, two figures in simplistic fighting clothes stood facing each other, with a deal of tension between them. The first, a young man in nothing more than a pair of shorts, his body muscular, but with a wiry build to it. He was Gai Tendo, the young upstart who had gotten here by the sweat of his brow, defeating opponent after opponent. And finally, a shot at the big times… not only against the reigning champ, but against a legend of martial arts to boot!

The other was an imposing figure if ever there was one, wearing a ripped gi that was as black as his spiky hair was white, taller and with a sinister around him. This man was Silber, and to him, the fight was all. To get the best fights in this circuit, however, one had to be a target for the best fighters…

And what better method than simply stand at the top? Sure, more than a few individuals proved to disappoint him, but enough of the fights had sufficient entertainment, for the fans as well as himself. Besides, the six-figure annual salary he was pulling down was nothing to balk at either. In short, everyone got something out of him fighting.

Well, except for the poor bastards that got sent to the hospital afterwards. And they _always_ went to the hospitals.

Just as this outsider… Ryo Sakazaki would.

A loud cheer let both men know that the newcomer and guest fighter had finally shown his face. It wouldn't be long now, as Ryo began his approach towards the fighting arena. The rules were simple: last to lose consciousness won.

As the blonde stepped through the entrance, he sized up his opponents. He'd seen them fight before, well, not in person, but those recordings still counted. And he had a plan. A crazy one worthy of his father, but hey, he _was_ booked as Mr. Karate, a little curveball would be nice.

In short, no projectiles.

Sure, the idea _sounded _suicidal, but the Kou Ken was no big surprise for either man due to the KoF's history of being televised, and they had probably spent hours working out strategies to counter it. By simply ignoring a facet of Kyokugenryu that everyone was expecting him to rely on and hone his form with other techniques, well, it gave him a great tactical advantage, at least in the opening minutes.

… Unless either Silber or Gai had been expecting that and took a crash-course on Hadoukens. Then things would be short and painful. But that was assuming that they had managed to figure out how to actually DO a Hadouken in this goddamned screwy fighting system where the _joystick_ was for attacks.

He was going to sue SNK one of these days. He just HAD to.

Nevertheless, Ryo forced the unnecessarily loud noises all around him to be no longer heard, and he simply looked back and forth at these two men he had never said a word to. All the while, he heard a referee discuss various rules and limitations he had heard a million times. If someone was calling for mercy, they were out of the fight and attacking them was forbidden… stuff like that.

Finally, Ryo's world shrank down to include just three people: himself, Gai, and Silber. Everyone else didn't really matter.

* * *

_Lessee…_ King thought as she stumbled through the Japanese menus in her and Ryo's hotel, cursing the fact that even though the language wasn't a problem, the nature of the remote _was_. Refusing to give up, however, she eventually managed to get through the various menus for the pay-per-view channels…

And the result was what she had been hoping for.

Going down, standing among the horde of prepubescent boys and those that were still prepubescent boys at heart, and probably being one of the only girls present had not been in the plan for King. Mainly because she'd stick out like a sore thumb and didn't want to worry Ryo.

Of course, as soon as the fight was over, she was going _right down there_. That only made sense, and she would greet Ryo the same way no matter whether he won or lost: as a woman who loved him, and was proud of him.

Besides, watching him with a VCR hooked up would give her the opportunity to look into any flaws in his form that she could exploit the next time they fought in the King of Fighters.

A woman that loved him? Yes. A friendly rival that wanted to take the lead in their unofficial "shirt-ripping" competition? Yes one thousand times over.

* * *

As soon as the bell ran for the fight to start, Ryo sprinted at Silber. He was a bit surprised by the man's awkward fighting style, what with having one arm just slump over like that, but-

**WHAM AGAIN!**

Almost before Sakazaki realized what was happening, the man in black had deliver a pair of spin kicks to his right side; one to the gut and one to the head. The force behind the attacks was, well, it was _very_ impressive, but he was the champ after all. If it had been the kid-

**WHAM!**

A fist to the back killed that concept as Ryo screamed out in pain, stumbling forward, Gai to his left, Silber to his right. Worse, his back was open to another attack by either one of them, and he knew that if there was a gang-up this early, he'd never get a chance to recover.

Ryo forced himself to turn around, seeing his two opponents coming at him at diagonal angles, Gai slightly closer. Ryo sprang to his right, decreasing the distance between them and simultaneously raising his guard as the young man attack at his torso. Tendo's fist struck Ryo's arms instead, folded like a cross before Sakazaki responded with a swift kick that went high enough to catch the short-haired man on the chin before delivering a bone-crushing fist to his abdomen. Gai winced from the pain, but both knew that the injury was not enough to defeat him outright.

Normally, the Raging Tiger would've followed the attack up with something else, but that wasn't the order for the day since Silber was charging at him. Ryo threw Gai away to focus on the uninjured man instead, flat-out surprised when the big man suddenly lunged at Tendo's unconscious form.

_The bastard!_ Ryo thought in fury as he sprang at Silber's form and performed the Hien Shippu Kyaku. Silber, not expecting Sakazaki to take the honorable-yet-stupid route, took the blow to the face and was sent slamming into the cage wall of the fighting platform. Ryo breathed a sigh of relief, this wasn't too hard.

Turning around, he could see Gai was back on his feet, a bit bruised but capable of fighting.

"Thanks, by the way," the man said, voicing his appreciation before dropping into loose stance.

'Don't mention it," Ryo answered as he returned the favor. "If I'm going to beat you, might as well make it one someone won't dispute."

"Like hell you'll beat me!" Gai announced before charging at Ryo, pulled back for a punch. Ryo almost laughed at how blatantly Tendo was telegraphing his moves before countering with a higher-than-average roundhouse kick so he could also catch view of Silber and see how close he was.

… That attack hit absolutely nothing at all.

Realizing something was very, _very_ wrong, Ryo turned back to see that Gai had been stringing him along gleefully… the young man having jumped in the air _just high _enough to jump on Ryo's right arm, wrapping his legs around it.

_He… he's going to break it…_ Ryo thought in pain as the smaller man began putting everything he had into the brutal act, Sakazaki doing what he could to try to stop him. After all, this was no-holds-barred fight with every man for himself.

"No… hard feelings," Gai remarked as he slowly managed to force Ryo's arm back further and further, surprised at Sakazaki's amazing determination to not lose the limb no matter the cost. "O-okay?"

"_Whatever…_" Ryo growled in fury as he realized something.

Amidst the ever-growing pressure on his right arm and the vulnerable position he was in, the recovered Silber had yet to make a move. Instead of attacking, Ryo saw the white-haired man merely stand off at a distance, watching his two enemies struggle against each other.

For a moment, Ryo was confused… but then something clicked. Well… _two _things. His arm wasn't going to last must longer. The second was that Silber was not going to charge in and face a Kou Ken attack…

Which meant, unfortunately, Ryo _could not use his free arm to attack Gai_.

_Well…_ Ryo thought miserably, _This amounts to nothing more than utter shit._

Of course, he wasn't going to give up any time soon. Things were bad, but not hopeless… and Ryo did the only thing he could: fall.

Tumbling forward, Gai's awkward position meant if he didn't move, well, the head trauma would free up Ryo anyways. Unable to focus on Silber, however, meant that the reigning champ could finally move in for the kill. Ryo and Gai struck the ground, right before Silber slammed their heads together. Momentarily dizzied, Silber picked them both up before throwing them up in the air. Two brutal punches later, Gai and Ryo were sent slamming into the chain-links of the walls…

With enough force that several links broke.

"Hmph…" Silber muttered as he pointed at the two men. "This is _your_ fault, Ryo Sakazaki." He paused for a moment, and even amidst the by-now raving and riotous crowds, he knew that his opponents were hearing him. "The weakest fighter in a melee is still a fighter, capable of stellar attacks if given the correct opportunity. It makes a great deal of sense to dispose of them since they require the least amount of energy.

"Of course, _you_ happened to take the moral route. Deal with whoever was the greater threat at any given moment. I consider you _both_ threats, and hence, while you are _both_ fighting each other, I simply beat _both_ of you down into the ground. Understand?"

Lying on the ground, Ryo and Gai looked at each other for a moment before finally agreeing silently to make Silber eat his own words.

Rising up, the two immediately charged straight at Silber, Gai taking the point and swinging out with his left hand. Silber predictably blocked it, but Gai spun, swinging both his right arm and right leg at the man. Unable to block both, Silber took a harsh blow to the gut and caused him to stumble away…

Just as planned.

The second Mr. Karate moved like lightning, sprinting at the stunned man and slamming his knee into Silber's chest, knocking his opponent away slightly as Ryo landed on the ground, crouched and ready for the final blow.

"… Kou… HOU!"

Sakazaki rocketed high into the air, his clenched fist rending air itself as its full force struck Silber, cutting a perfectly vertical gash across his chest before hitting his chin. The man shot up into the air, screaming in pain, before slamming back into the ground.

Silber wasn't going to get up any time soon.

"Okay then…" Ryo said as he turned back to Gai. "Now that that's been taken care of…"

"Heh, yeah," Gai responded. "We've got to finish this fight." Dropping down, Gai prepared himself, ready to end this fight quickly and without too much effort. "Don't think you've got the advantage, though…"

"Oh, why's that?"

"Because I've seen most of your techniques, that's why," Gai responded before charging. "Therefor, I know what to look out for!"

"Same to you, kid," Ryo responded as Gai began to deliver a steady stream of punches and kicks to the older fighter. "Only one- _urgh!"_ Ryo gasped in pain as one strike managed to get through and land square in the middle of his face. Falling back a few steps, he wasn't surprised that Gai nevertheless charged full-speed at him.

And for that, he was punished severely.

"AND NOW…" Gai shouted anxiously as he pulled back for the final blow, "I WIN!"

He sent his fastest, best punch towards Ryo, who calmly and effortlessly blocked it before returning the favor. The force knocked Gai away in disbelief as Ryo chuckled.

"Don't assume, Tendo, that just because you landed a good hit, that an opponent's defense are compromised." He said those words with the wisdom that his years on Earth had given to him before moving in for the kill.

Sure, the Kou Hou and the Hien Shippu Kyaku had been shown to Gai, and the Kou Ken was unnecessary this close to victory.

Gai ran towards the approaching Ryo, returning the favor with a hot-blooded cry as both readied for the final attack, punching out at each other. Refusing to give up, Gai poured everything he had into this last exchange, swinging his fist with all his strength…

And promptly hitting what amounted to a steel wall. And then Ryo struck with his _other_ fist.

"Always have a backup plan, Gai Tendo!" Ryo declared before releasing a blinding-fast stream of punches from just his left arm, the Zanretsuken. Punch after punch pummeled Gai's defenseless body, knocking him higher and higher into the air before one final uppercut clinched the matter.

The crowd fell silent, looking at their victor, as if expecting him to say something. Ryo even _seemed_ as if something was on his mind, something to declare…

But the Raging Tiger shook his head, and proudly walked away.

* * *

"THAT BASTARD SON OF MINE!" Takuma howled in fury, terrifying the numerous Kyokugenryu students he had forced under threat of Haoh Shi Kou Ken to watch the fight.

Nobody had the guts to ask why Takuma had decided to call his one and only son a bastard.

"YOU FORGOT TO ADVERTISE THE SCHOOL, RYO! THE SCHOOL! THE SCHOOL NEEDS FRESH BLOOD!"

"… to spill…" Marco Rodriguez muttered under his breath.

Two seconds later, he was twitching on the floor in the epicenter of a smoldering crater.

"That is enough blood… _for now_," Takuma declared to the quivering masses fearing for their lives before suddenly jumping up in the air and shouting out "BOO!" They fled like mice, dragging the injured Brazilian away as well. For a moment, Takuma just stood there before taking a calm breath, dropping into a horse stance, and delivering a single punch.

Good. His form was flawless. Now to check the strength.

Takuma pulled out a certain scrap of paper from his gi and throwing it up into the air. It lazily drifted down, before he delivered another punch, one with the force of sending it flying away into the wall… with enough force to leave a small crack.

Another moment, and Takuma let out a proud laugh. The good luck his black gi carried still existed within it, and he had gotten back into shape after slacking off for the past two years.

And in only a few months, the Maximum Mayhem tournament would begin. And he'd be in it.

A/N: Good ol' Takuma. Such a goofy and yet serious character, no? The honor of the title Mr. Karate has been defended, and the biggest tournament which will serve to set more than a few things into motion. More than a few familiar faces will enter, and more than a few familiar faces will find themselves battling for their very lives. And this is going to be a different fighting tournament, a Tournament of Shadows.


	59. Tournament of shadows

A/N: And thus, the penultimate chapter of the Fatal Fury saga can begin. It's going to be a rocky road ahead for Geese and company, but a necessary one. Besides, this will be Geese's finest moment! Huzzah!

Oh, and whoever made _The World Ends with You_ should kill whoever made _Kingdom Hearts_. Please, nobody correct me. That makes the hypocritical humor of this all the more sweeter.

Oh, and apologies for no update last week. Working from 6 am to 1 pm every day of the workweek is taxing.

Dark and foreboding: the underbelly of Southtown, where only those displaying both cruelty and strength survived. Mercy or the inability to back up claims only led to pain and death. And whilst Terrance Bogard stood above as the undisputed ruler of this world, there were still many smaller groups that kept out of too much trouble.

Leaders to two of those smaller crime groups stood together amidst that darkness, nobody else around. To carry firearms or knives to this place was forbidden. They merely stood there as equals.

"Been quite a damn long time… Fate…" the leader of the Mephistophles gang, Duke, dryly remarked. The man opposite of him bore an equal amount of frustration on his face, but that was to be expected.

"Skip the pleasantries," Fate responded. "You called me out her for a reason, after all."

The dark-skinned man chuckled. "You are quite true about that. And we've been at this for a good couple of years, wouldn't you agree?"

"What are you getting at, Duke?" Fate snarled.

"Just… just think about it." Duke sighed… this was utterly hopeless. "In only a few days, Terry Bogard will be holding the largest fighting tournament exclusively located in Southtown. This will be meant, in a way, to showcase his control over this city. But where does all this money and power come from. We all know what Geese Howard did to him five years ago in the King of Fighters '93… acting tough and then losing, _badly_ at that, to someone in a fight is an easy way to lose influence."

"Bogard's still Bogard."

"Oh, sure. I don't dispute that. But you don't suffer that kind of defeat without some kind of a setback. Yet Bogard's not shown any real sign of difficulty. Sure, his team in the other King of Fighters sorta went downhill… but that was just to offer the expected token subordinate attack."

"… You're saying he has support."

"Sure. And think about when our gangs started gaining momentum."

"… About the same time."

"And that also was about the same time that a certain company moved in to Southtown, no? In fact…" Duke acted almost with a disgusting sarcasm, "It'd make quite a lot of sense if we were all just pawns in some large plan."

"But what would be the point?"

"Honestly?" Duke sighed in frustration at the situation. "I do not have a single clue. Your men try to kill mine, and mine try to kill yours. We cover our tracks well enough the cops can't hit us too hard, and in whatever subjects we dabble in, we make sure as _hell_ the Feds aren't concerned with us.

"But I received a contact… from an individual not too long ago."

"Oh? What did he say?"

**BANG!**

"To get you in a sniper's line of sight, for one," Duke snorted as he walked away, Fate's corpse left behind.

Duke was not an honorable man, he understood that, but he'd only do what was necessary to get ahead. Kicking a dog or committing rape, sure, that might give you a smug satisfaction for a bit, but it amounted to wasted time and wasted energy.

To change a situation or problem, one had to understand that situation or problem. This was the same; he'd never get anything done with Fate in his way. Sure, they might've been able to patch something up together, try to unite their gangs against this common foe, but wouldn't that be expected? Besides, good men on both sides had died, and Duke doubted everyone would just forgive and forget.

Fate's gang, with it's leader dead, would be shaken up for at least a few years. In the meantime, Duke internally mused, he'd have free reign provided he kept his head below the radar. That wouldn't be too hard, what with Terry Bogard out there. The Mephistophles gang could certainly gain ground, and become a force capable of defeating its creators.

* * *

Thirteen combatants… not a bad line-up for a singles tournament. Despite worrying about being too conspicuous, Geese had allowed himself to be driven to the center where the tournament's proceedings would be held. After all, the opening rounds where tomorrow, not today. He'd have time to go hakama on everyone's ass later.

The other entrants, however, were unknown to Geese. Well, Terry would obviously take part, but would he be an actual entrant, as he had been earlier, or had Bogard taken a page from Rugal Bernstein and made himself the final spectacle of the tournament?

Nevertheless, it didn't matter. If he was planning something, attempting to do something to _his_ city, Geese knew Terry would not get away with it this time.

The vehicle slowed to a stop, the driver telling him it was time to get out. Geese told him to wait, since it wouldn't take more than half an hour… hopefully. He got out, noting that Terry had selected a larger, dome-shaped building for the center, although it looked to only be one or two stories at the very tallest.

Scoffing, Geese entered the building…

Howard scanned those that had already arrived, surprised to see only a few familiar faces. Blue Mary and Mai Shiranui, each keeping their distance and ignoring the other. Geese also noted a young man dressed up in aviator outfit. Of course, there was always the surprise at seeing _him_.

"I don't believe it… QUETZ!"

Leopold Goenitz turned from his discussion with a particular Chinese super-cop, seeing Geese standing there. The two men smiled at the sight of each other before Howard also nodded in recognition of Hong Fu.

"I didn't know these was one of your battles to fight," the blonde said as he approached his friend. Nevertheless, Geese shook Goenitz's hand before doing the same with Hon Fu. "It's been a while."

"Indeed it has," Goenitz answered before pulling an envelope out of his pocket. "An invite."

"Same here," Hon Fu answered as he pulled out one of his own. "I was contacted by your friend on the police force, claimed that the Southtown police department had received two invites. One asking _specifically_ for Blue Mary Ryan, the other one a blank-check entry for anyone interested."

"… Your experience fighting Terry Bogard the reason for this?"

"Naturally. It's not much, but it helps, anyways."

"I'm wondering…" Geese mused, noting White had gone off for parts unknown. He really didn't care where that fruitcake was, to be honest.

"What is it?"

"Nothing," Geese answered. If either of them had seen that creepy guy, well, they would've commented on it. "Anyways… your invites outright forbid attempting to contact any of the other entrants?"

"Yeah," the Chinese detective agreed. "Although considering this is a singles tournament and Terry Bogard holds all the strings, not like we could really be able to make some kind of elaborate battle strategy."

"I'm noticing that we seem to be short by more than a few fighters," Geese remarked. "Any particular reason why?"

"Not exactly sure why," Goenitz answered. "Nobody's even come to tell us anything. You think's it's a trap?"

"Not Bogard's style," Geese answered. "All we can do is wai-"

As if triggered by the need for irony, speakers suddenly squeaked on in the room as a screen slowly began to lower in front of a wall.

"_Apologies…_" a young female voice announced over the audio system, "_Due to the nature of this tournament, we chose for an interesting twist in regards to the bracket layout."_

The screen flipped on, displaying the various match-ups. One side was blatantly skewered, with only five combatants. The first four would pair off to fight, the winners battling each other, before moving on to fight the fifth.

Everyone present in the room knew full well that the fifth was Terry Bogard.

The other half of the bracket had a traditional layout, although instead of names, numbers were used to identify the various fighters.

"_To ensure total secrecy of the brackets, we have numbered you all, one through thirteen. The fights were then determined randomly. The other fighters are already at their stations, and the first battle is underway…_"

The first two blank figures suddenly had their image filled in. One of them Geese recognized easily; Takuma Sakazaki. He was surprised the bag of bones had left retirement… although it might have something to do with beating the crap out of him again.

The other, however, Geese had never seen before… unless somehow the guy from _Clockwork Orange_ had suddenly been thrown from one fictional reality into another fictional reality.

However, there were two figures in the crowd that reacted quite… badly… to the sight of the certain, effeminate-looking man.

"… No… no way!" Hon Fu shouted in amazement, Goenitz and Geese both looking at him. "That's the same guy from a couple of years ago!"

"You mean-"

"He was one of the guys in that fight for the Jin Scrolls!"

The sudden impact of a chair being thrown into the screen caused the three men to turn back to the child in the pilot outfit… fists clenched and muscles tensed.

"Him…" the boy growled furiously, "_I have waited… _TOO DAMN LONG… _to meet that man again!"_

The other entrants to the tournament simply looked at the boy named Alfred, someone unknown to them, as he stormed off.

* * *

_Unusual place to hold a tournament fight_… Takuma thought as he strolled into an ornate mansion… surprised that it was entirely deserted. Dropping his duffel bag on the ground, he opened it up and changed into his white gi. True, he had a spare black one, but Mr. Karate had just had a glorious victory in Japan. It wouldn't be right to bring him out just yet.

Now if only his opponent would-

"Oh… ho ho ho…"

Hearing the arrogant, almost feminine voice, Takuma looked around again, stopping when he realized what appeared to be some priceless, human-sized doll was standing in the middle of the stairs… in spite of the fact she hadn't been there before.

"I see we finally meet, Mr. Sakazaki," the doll announced before bowing its head down. Almost immediately, the doll attacked, throwing its "face" at Takuma. The Kyokugenryu fighter instinctively evaded as it crashed and shattered into the ground. A swooshing sound caused him to look back up, seeing the "doll" had discarded its dress for a snazzy blue business suit…

And was a man.

"Apologies," the _man_ said as he walked down towards Takuma Sakazaki. "But I honestly wished to see what the great Takuma Sakazaki was capable of before we began our battle. I hope…" he stretched out a bare hand, "That we can settle this like gentlemen."

Takuma looked at him for a moment before turning and walking away.

"A cheap shot, no matter how pathetic, is the start of the battle. You lost your chance to shake hands with me."

The words stung White fiercely, having expected an easy battle amounting to a "one-touch kill".

White's previously calm demeanor shattered instantly, and he readied his cane and charged. Furiously, he swung with his weapon, deciding that a painful, yet slow, death would be more appropriate. Bogard had promised him quite a bit, after all, if he took the heavy hitters out of the tournament.

Without even looking back, Takuma stepped out of the way, causing White to stumble forward. Looking at him with disgust on his face, the undisputed master of Kyokugenryu slammed his clothed knee into White's clothed abdomen…

Again, meaning no body bursting.

White was sent flying backwards into the wall, amazed at the power that Takuma wielded, and then scolding himself for being too overly reliant on winning fights in the first few moments.

The literally _invisible_ Kou Ken that slammed into his gut immediately afterwards all but stripped him of all possible strength as he collapsed to the ground, Takuma walking up to him.

"… There is something very wrong with you," Takuma said as he looked down at the bruised White. "I can't really put my finger on it."

Spitting out a small amount of blood, White clenched his cane. "A pathetic brute _like you… HAS NO RIGHT TO CRITICIZE ME!_" Howling out, he shot up and attempted to strike Takuma with his weapon, to literally beat sense into this arrogant man.

The weapon broke on the first impact with Takuma's upraised forearm, in which case Sakazaki casually grabbed it and smacked White across the face with it, knocking him to the ground again. Throwing the splintered remains of the rod at White's feet, Takuma began walking away.

"Can you even fight?"

On the ground, White grasped at the upper part of his weapon, before shooting a dirty look at Takuma and pointing it at the unsuspecting man.

_Indeed I can!_ White thought as he pressed a switch on the damaged cane, glad enough of it was intact for the emergency feature to activate.

One bullet, enough to kill if it hit the right point. And fired quietly enough that poor Sakazaki didn't realizing what he was hearing until it was too late. The man was blown away from White, slamming onto the ground. White cynically remarked that Sakazaki somehow was able to make taking a goddamn gullet look graceful.

Well… enough with that. A quick touch and-

A yellow burst of energy shot across the ground between the two, White pausing and dumbfounded to see Terry Bogard standing there, and looking rather cross.

"I don't care what just happened here. Ride it out."

"What?" White was confused at the actions of his former enemy. "Didn't you say-"

"_Just walk away!_" Terry snapped. The tension between the two was enough that a rather pointless and cliché'd simile would probably be expected by the author. Be that as it may, White scoffed and turned away, knowing his place, at least for now. The elder Bogard turned to look at Takuma Sakazaki's unconscious form, snorting when he realized that White had grievously lucked-out.

He promptly dialed 911 and reported the injury, making sure to keep out various details that would keep his tournament from running smoothly. Terry then checked the tournament bracket again, noting the next few fights would be starting up.

Technically, White had won this fight. That was fine, and arguably better in the long run. But he'd need to get his comeuppance sooner or later. Until then, well, he'd enjoy his time in the driver's seat.

A/N: Thanks to some feedback from Sheo Darren, I was able to do quite a bit of thinking about where this story stands, and where I really want to take it. There comes a time when someone, usually after a break, looks back at a work of theirs and thinks "Wow, did I write this shit?" I'm currently hitting that point with ASD. True, not as bad as calling what I've written as shit, but nevertheless, I know I can do better.

I personally cannot forgive myself for the blatant character derailments I have done to many individuals. Goenitz is justified, to an extent, as is Geese, but Terry is… well, I've done Terry a great injustice. My whole plan for him isn't going to change, but the execution is going to change quite a bit, as testament to his defense of Takuma at the end of this chapter. I owe it to SNK's great blonde hero, after all.

I'm sticking with this, mainly because I _want_ to. It's been on my mind more and more recently, which is good, because I'm getting my inspiration back. I'm going to be working all the way through '01 before taking a break to work on part 2 of the Romance of the Three Demons trilogy, _Ai no Saori_. But, well, I'm going to try to act more like an author, and less like a goddamn fanboy.

Because, let's face it, nobody has any justification to act like Falcoon. They just don't.

Anyways, enough melodramatic remarks… lots of good fights are coming up, so be pumped for next week's chapter!


	60. Return of the Demons

A/N: New chapter up. Isn't it great to be back in the swing of things?

He still remembered the day quite clearly; his grandfather taking him up on the plane to show him what it was like, and a bit of turbulence springing up at one point.

… And then that man… that freaky man, coming in and touching his grandfather, right before he exploded in a shower of blood. Alfred's fists shook as he walked down the street, and all he could think about was defeating that man, White.

He knew the location, he remembered his grandfather pointing it out one time, years ago. He had been absurdly young at that point in time, but he still remembered. And with that memory, came the desire of vengeance. No doubt White was back there for his match, and Alfred no longer had to worry about showing up to get a face full of security and no Clockwork Orange cosplayer.

It was a sure thing, he'd go there and finally-

"I'd advise… _not_ going after him, if I were you."

Alfred paused, looking to his right. Inside the small alcove of the building, a tall, blonde figure was leaning against the wall. The position of the building, in addition to the past-noon Sun, made it easy for the shadows to hide his face.

"You don't understand what this means to me," Alfred answered. "I've been waiting for this for-"

"Probably a good-sized chunk of your life," the figure responded. "Probably watched your father or father figure die right in front of your eyes." Alfred had the feeling he'd met this guy before… or at least seen him on TV or something, but he couldn't put his finger on it. "That sounds great, it really does."

"Of course it should," Alfred snapped. "I've been training for this moment, waiting to finally get back at White!"

"… And what happens afterwards?"

"What?"

Calmly, the figure stood up and walked out of the alcove, walking past Alfred. "Revenge is a one-way street, kid. You go down it far enough, and you'll burn every bridge you ever liked." Patting the boy on the head once, the figure continued walking, past him and off into the distance.

… And leaving Alfred standing there, wondering why the hell Terry Bogard would do any of this.

* * *

"This the place?" Geese asked as he and Goenitz reached the infamous, ever-present Area that had once carried his name. The arena was in pristine condition, as was to be expected for the tournament.

"… Yeah," Leopold answered. The next three fights for the tournament would be held here, to handle up the entirety of the "normal" bracket. Thankfully, the two friends wouldn't have to engage in battle against each other just yet. They layout would mean they'd have to get through two opponents first.

… And standing right there as plain as day, was Andy Bogard. The blonde was silent in face of the two older men, focusing on nothing more than the fight against the former priest. Geese could wait.

"Nice tournament your brother's organized," Geese shot at him, Andy only nodding once to acknowledge his presence. "Any idea where the other three people should be?"

Andy shook his head. "No. They're missing in action, although I presume they'll show up eventually. Until then…"

He dropped down into a fighting stance, "I do believe my opponent _is_ present. So please get off to the side, Geese, and we can get things underway."

Howard smirked before walking over to the side. "Be my guest, Bogard." Sitting down off to the side, Geese watched as the two men prepared themselves mentally and physically for the battle. After a moment, however, Andy charged straight at Goenitz.

Seeing him approach, the Serpent God, raised his hand, summoning up a small tornado a few feet in front of Andy. The strategy was tried and true, either the opponent would be forced to stop and lose momentum, or go ahead anyways and be buffeted around by the winds. Goenitz could almost smirk as he bowed his head down and prepared to counter-attack.

"QUETZ!" Geese suddenly shouted, "Get out of the way!"

Howard's panicked tone caused Goenitz to look up, shocked that Andy had launched himself into the air with enough force to rise past the attack before he arced back down and slammed his feet into Goenitz's chest. The man stumbled away, barely able to throw up his defenses as Andy rocketed towards him again.

"Tough luck, Goenitz," Andy scolded as his palms slammed into the man. "You like playing keep away all the time, don't you? I bet that screws up your skill when someone bothers fighting back."

Grimacing, the older man slid out of the way of Andy's next attack, kicking him in the back and then grabbing him by the neck.

"I do just fine," Goenitz retorted as a cyclone burst into existence around the blonde, it's amazing force injuring him for several seconds before the Shiranui ninja swung his legs up and struck Goenitz in the chest and back. The attack did little to stop Goenitz from giving up his hold, but Andy then forced everything he had on twisting his opponent, and the force behind the action was enough to knock Goenitz off balance enough to let go.

Free, Andy delivered another roundhouse kick to Goenitz's chest, stunning the man before shooting up in the air again.

"It's over, Leopold Goenitz!" Andy shouted as his body caught on fire, surging down at his opponent. The ex-clergyman, however, responded by raising his hand up and snapping his fingers, countering Andy's Chou Reppa Dan kick with a blast of short-range razor-sharp gusts of wind. The attacks tore into the younger Bogard's legs, canceling out his technique and allowing Goenitz to grab him and then unleash a steady stream of open-hand strikes: the Neo Ya Otome.

With the last of the eight strikes delivered, Andy staggered away, shocked at the power that Goenitz displayed. For a moment, the three men present were perfectly silent, the latter two wondering if the Shiranui ninja would admit defeat or-

"TIME TO DIE!!"

Two voices screamed those words with unbridled fury, a gigantic blast of energy tearing up the entirety of the arena as Geese, Goenitz, and Andy turned to see a bright yellow blast of energy surging towards them. Geese acted as quickly as he could, blasting up a Raging Storm to protect himself while at the same time cursing the fact he wasn't close enough to Quetz to protect him either.

Then again, he didn't have to worry.

"Chou Reppa… DAAAAAAN!!"

A fiery human arrow launched itself into the blast, saving Goenitz from a painful injury and parting the attack as Andy Bogard poured everything he had into it. It wasn't a matter of protecting his opponent, per-se, it was just getting around to stopping the attack in time. Goenitz getting a free ride was just a by-product.

Finally, the attack ended, Andy collapsing onto the ground unconscious as Goenitz stared at the newcomers in confusion, Geese looking at them in shock and horror.

_Im… Impossible!_ Howard thought, unable to believe who was standing there. _Lilly and I…_

"We meet again, and it's almost been two years… Geese," announced the blue-clad Jin Chonrei snarled. Standing next to him was his younger brother, Jin Chonshu, looking at the Hyakkuseiken master with just as much hatred.

Looking down at Andy and then at Geese, Goenitz took the opportunity to ask Geese if he knew them. The blonde American nodded.

"I know them… but I just can't believe-"

"Well, you didn't _kill _us," Chonrei snapped. "That would be rather difficult, even for one such as you. As for being in this tournament…" both boys pulled out envelopes. "They may not be ours, but we took the liberty to take them from their rightful owners. Hence, _we_ are their rightful owners now."

"That boxer…" Chonshu chuckled, "He was a complete joke."

"We have our chance now," Chonrei continued, "To reclaim the Jin Scrolls that were stolen from us. We don't even need that pathetic excuse for a tool anymore, Yamazaki was more trouble than he was worth. Why not just enter the tournament ourselves and pluck it out of Terry Bogard's hands?"

"And let me guess…" Geese remarked as he stepped down onto the smoldering remains of the arena. He looked at Goenitz, the man nodding as he carried Andy away, "You're going to tag-team me again, aren't you?"

Chonshu shrugged. "What can I say? You're a perceptive man. Our strength has also increased dramatically over the months between our defeat and now. You don't stand a chance."

"Geese…" Goenitz urged, "Don't go through with this?"

"Why not?" Howard answered with a slightly deranged smile. "They came for a beating, why not give it to them. Besides… one of them's probably slated to be my opponent anyways since he took that invite."

"And that would be me," Chonrei announced as he approached Geese. "Of course, too bad that Chonshu's opponent isn't here to keep him busy. Guess he'll have to just help me out, wouldn't you say?"

With a flick of his wrist, Geese let loose a single Reppuken to serve as his answer. Most likely Chonrei would dodge or attempt a counter of some sort, whatever it would be, Geese wasn't too worried.

The attack, however suddenly struck a previously-invisible barrier and promptly vanished. The act was quite the surprise, and Geese could already hear Goenitz shouting at him as the ground beneath him suddenly began to glow blue before he was blasted high into the air. Righting himself in midair, Geese managed to land on his feet as he leered at the Jin twins.

So they _had_ been honest about being tougher than before. Geese mused he'd have to take Goenitz up on his off-

"… Wow. And here I thought that I was the only kid in this tournament."

Geese looked past the two demon children, seeing that aviator boy from before leaning against the wall.

"Alfred Airhawk," he announced. "I believe you're supposed to be my opponent." He pointed at Chonshu, trying to ignore thinking about White. He'd get his shot at him soon enough. Until then, he couldn't let distractions get in the way.

Turning to Goenitz, Geese smiled. "See, Quetz? Things work out in the end."

"They better," Goenitz answered as he carried Andy over his shoulder, forcing himself to not look behind him, because if he did, well, then he'd have to fight.

Simultaneously, the two Jin children lunged at their opponents, Geese throwing up the Atami Nage to counter Chonrei's physical strike while Alfred wasn't so lucky. Chonshu's elbow struck his gut before the boy in red clothes grabbed Alfred by the collar and smashed him into the ground. Gasping in pain, Alfred forced himself to swing his right leg up, managing to graze Chonshu's Chinese clothing along the side.

Almost instantly, the fabric Alfred had struck parted, as if cut by something. The stunned Chonshu was left wide open as Alfred swung his head up, bashing it into the Jin's before flipping backwards and onto his feet.

All Chonshu could think about was the damage to his outfit, delivered without a blade. "How… normal humans shouldn't…"

Alfred smiled as he raised his arms up to form an "x". "I know my way around planes. Did you know that a propeller blade doesn't need to be terrible sharp? You just need to move it fast. Same way with my hands. Besides, doesn't that Yagami guy do the same thing?"

"But Yagami's-!" Chonshu stammered before trying to calm down. His big brother, by the looks of it, was fighting Geese to a standstill. Good. He just had to worry about this kid in front of him.

"HIIII-YAAAAA!!" Alfred screamed out as he sent his arms slicing upwards, the force of the action cutting forward like the wind straight at Chonshu. The boy raised his guard, trying to get over the initial intimidation, but his action was quite foolish. After all, it was just the wind, mere air molecules that slid through Chonshu's barrier effortlessly before striking him and drawing blood.

Suppressing the need to scream in pain, Chonshu instead jumped into the air before suddenly teleporting in front of the surprised Alfred and kicking him in the head. The red-clad boy landed, charging at the stunned pilot and springing into the air again, spinning and cutting up Alfred in response as the two began falling to the ground.

Gritting his teeth, Chonshu kicked his opponent forcefully up into the air again. "I'm not going to lose, understand?!" he snapped as he watched Alfred try to feebly move his arms. "So bring it on!"

Descending back down towards his opponent, Airhawk swung both his arms down at awkward angles before Jin Chonshu punched him in the face and then smiled.

"… Tough fight…" he panted as his hands glowed yellow. "But I _will_ reclaim the Jin Scrolls. It's over, pilot!"

Thrusting his palms out, they struck Alfred, right before Chonshu's eyes snapped open and he began screaming, blood falling from his hands. He stumbled away from Alfred, the aviator relieved that the last-ditch technique had actually worked.

With one, thoroughly determined punch, he knocked Chonshu to the ground, and the boy didn't get up.

* * *

Geese and Chonrei's fists collided only a few dozen feet away, the power behind the attacks sending both of them skidding away. The momentary distancing gave Geese the perfect opportunity to see a panting Alfred standing over Chonshu's body. Howard then shameless pointed in the direction.

"Your brother's already lost."

Chonrei froze for a moment, wondering if it was a trick or not. Be that as it may, he still hesitantly looked over while trying to keep one eye on Geese. The Hakkyokuseiken master had been expecting him to lose an semblance of focus or discipline at the sight of his defeated younger sibling.

He was dead wrong.

Instead, Chonrei just sighed sadly and shook his head. "I figured as much. I was always a cut above him in strength." Looking up at Geese, he clenched his fists again. "That kid doesn't look like the killing type, though. In a way, this is nice. I just have to worry about myself now in this tournament.

"And _mark my words_, Geese. I will not rest until the three Jin Scrolls are back in my hands."

The boy snapped his fingers as six points of light appeared on the ground surrounding Geese before blasting energy at the man. The hakama-clad fighter jumped in the air to dodge them, only to see Chonrei teleport suddenly in front of him and slam his tiny feet into the sides of Geese's head. Spinning around, Jin fell towards the Earth, planning on bashing Geese's brains out. Unfortunately, Howard managed to counter the effort by simply stopping his fall with his hands.

With Plan A killed, the blue-clad demon child instead opted to spin quickly, flipping Geese onto his back and then pounding him into the ground _that_ way.

Grunting in anger, Geese managed to roll away from Chonrei, only to get kicked in the back again by the teleporting brat. Spinning around, Geese swung a backhand in Chonrei's direction, only to watch the boy vanish again.

_Perfect_.

Geese suddenly turned again, just in time to catch Chonrei's next attack with the Atami Nage. Gripping the child's arms, Geese slammed him into the ground again…

Only for Chonrei to magically vanish for what seemed to be the hundredth time that battle.

"FINE THEN!" Geese roared, slamming his palms into the ground. "RAGING STORM!"

The cage-like technique burst from the ground again, Geese instinctively punching up.

Impact. And about damn time.

Chonrei yelled out as Geese grabbed him, and directly pulled him into the path of the attack. Normally the Raging Storm would've blasted someone away in a matter of seconds. Too bad for Chonrei that he had an anchor keeping him there.

After a few more moments, however, Geese relented, permitting the injured Jin to be launched into the ground tiles, quite painfully in fact, and slam into his unconscious brother. Panting from the exhaustion, Geese could only look up at Alfred, give a weak smile, and then display a thumbs-up.

"… Thanks… kid…"

_A/N_: A problem with rematches in fiction is it's hard to show someone's stronger than before without visual representation. Hence, I decided to let the Jins spam teleporting in a manner befitting Nightcrawler. So sue me. And I was lazy and never played as Alfred in Real Bout: Fatal Fury 2, so I decided to base his fighting style off of Nanto Seiken. Sue me for that too. Anyways, we're more than halfway through the first set of matches of the first Maximum Mayhem tournament! WHOO!! Next chapter can be chalked up to a single word: Schism.


	61. Devil's Luck

A/N: Whew! Between watching the King of Braves: GaoGaiGar, along with posting part one of Maoh Soma, I've been a busy little bastard. And I also changed my username (gasp!), partially because in hindisght, DBZ pales in comparison with JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.

Yeah. Take that.

* * *

"… So how is he?"

"Perfectly fine. Shaken up quite a bit, but otherwise he'll be back on his feet in a couple of hours."

Goenitz smiled as he thanked the doctor. Andy was unconscious after intervening the Jin children's attacks, but by the sounds of it, he'd be fine soon. Geese had even given him a call and let him know that the twins had been defeated again.

Hopefully, they'd stay down this time.

"Uh, sir?" the doctor said again, knocking Leopold out of his train of thought, "About taking care of the medical bills?"

"I'm sure Mr. Bogard's older brother can take care of it, don't you agree?"

"Of course, sir." The doctor turned and walked away, Goenitz glad to know things were looking up again as he turned and walked away-

Only to pause when he realized that, literally right in front of him, was a cosplayer from _Clockwork Orange_.

"Hello there, Mr. Leopold Goenitz," he said with a bow. "I've been looking for you. You see…"

"I remember you," Goenitz responded, noting in amusement White looking up at him baffled. "The brackets listed you fighting Takuma Sakazaki."

After a moment, White answered. "… _Yes…_" His voice was rather aggravated at the mention of the Kyokugenryu fighter who had not only humiliated him in battle, but was tragically _still alive_. "I won the match, so I was looking around to find you so we could commence our own match."

"Oh, we're slated to fight?" Goenitz answered. "Wonderful. I'll see you on the roof."

"Terrific," White answered. "May the best man win." He held out his hand for Goenitz to shake it. Victory was already assured, that much was guaranteed. He had acted civil for the entirety of his time around Goenitz, and the poor bastard seemed affable enough to not suspect anything.

Goenitz looked at him and nodded in appreciation, but then shook his head remorsefully.

"I'm… sorry. Germs…"

"What?"

"Germs… I'm guess you could say I'm a bacteriaphobe." It was a blatant lie, but as Goenitz walked away he was glad Geese and that boy had called him on the phone. White, they had said, wasn't a man to come into physical contact with, and Goenitz planned on playing it safe. "I'll see you up on the roof, sir."

* * *

"So… _why_ are we doing this?" Kasumi asked as she sat with Yuri in the Pao Pao Café, waiting for the match between two of the Maximum Mayhem's entrants to begin. They were on the second floor, looking down at a square arena where the to fighters would engage in combat until one of them was unable to continue.

"Because King asked us to, that's why," Yuri answered as she heard a round of applause and cheering. She knew that Miss Fanservice had stepped into the arena… although Mai Shiranui's entrance was flashier than any she'd ever seen, with a burst of smoke near the ceiling as the red-clad Kunoichi fell to the ground and landed perfectly.

At least she was wearing a slightly less revealing outfit. Unfortunately, that also triggered a number of boos from the crowd. Mai shut up the loudest of them with a fan to the head before turning to see her opponent approach.

Mai remembered her a couple of years ago, heartbroken at being denied the opportunity to be on the Girlfriend Team. She wasn't much older, but Li Xiangfei certainly seemed to carry herself better. Mai considered this quite the honor, really… to leave the team on decent terms with King, and also test the girl's skill in battle.

The young Chinese girl was in her usual red outfit, which contrasted with Mai's.

"So… if I beat you-" Xiangfei started to say over the cheers of the audience, but Mai shook her head.

"No, your admission isn't determined by that. I'm testing to see what you're capable of, that's all. We've also got to spectators," Mai said as she pointed up in Kasumi and Yuri's general direction, "Who'll also be sizing you up. Okay?"

"Wow, I'll be sure to show you everything I've got!" Xiangfei said as she blushed a little bit-

Right before Mai rocketed forward and slammed her elbow into Xiangfei's face. The Chinese girl almost blacked out on the spot, falling backwards and only managing to catch her self at the absolutely last second. Her school of hard knocks had begun teaching lessons.

Flipping backwards, Xiangfei tried to focus, but the force of Mai's opening attack was still leaving her dizzy as she saw Mai charging at her. The beautiful woman's acrobatics caught Xiangfei off-guard as Mai spun around, the weighted orb on the back of her outfit swinging towards her opponent. The younger woman tried to block, but Mai was already striking again with a closed fan.

The swat to the head distracted Xiangfei enough for the sphere to knock her off her balance again, Mai turning to deliver a kick. The black-haired girl raised her guard, but her slight frame and low weight caused her to skid off the left from the force of the impact. Mai promptly continued her offensive, throwing a series of fans at the girl, yet Xiangfei had enough time to flip backwards, letting each of the projectiles sail over her before she lunged forward. The waitress rammed her shoulder into Mai's body, stunning her before delivering a pair of open-palm strikes to Mai's body, knocking her backwards.

"Take that!" Xiangfei snapped as she spun before thrusting her hands out, a very small sphere of energy erupting from her hands and managing to _just_ connect with a returning Mai Shiranui, all while some female Hong Kong detective was screaming "copyright infringement".

Chun Li was quickly silenced, however, by her father's killer and they shared a brief, tearful moment together cursing SNK in all its glory.

Xiangfei, on the other hand, had jumped into the air, preparing to finish off the still-reeling Shiranui ninja, but was caught off-guard when Mai suddenly sprang up high into the air and then rocketing downwards straight at her. It looked for a second if the surprised girl and Mai would slam their heads into each other, but at the last second Mai spun, bringing her legs down and kicking Xiangfei in the face.

The force behind the attack, boosted thanks to gravity, was enough to knock Xiangfei out cold.

The spectators praised Mai as she bowed to them all before looking up to see Todoh and Sakazaki. _Well_, Mai thought, _I've done my part. See you around… Girlfriends Team…_

* * *

"So…"

"… Yeah…"

Two detectives stood face-to-face back at the center where Geese, Goenitz, and Alfred had been at several hours ago. Hon Fu and Blue Mary, two partners in breaking through the enigma that was Terry Bogard's newest scheme, were now forced to face each other in the opening round of the King of Fighters Maximum Mayhem.

The circular arena was bare, they were the only ones standing there. And to advance to fight whoever would win against Shiranui and Xiangfei, they'd have to beat the crap out of each other.

Then again, this was a fighting tournament and everyone else was doing it. The two eventually decided, nonverbally, to just duke it out and see who was standing in the end.

Blue Mary charged at Hon Fu before unleashing a mid-level flying kick. Hon Fu rolled underneath the attack before kicking backwards, striking Blue Mary from behind and knocking her forward uncontrollably. The blonde would've hit the ground face-first but managed to have her hands take the impact instead. She flipped around just in time to block a painful strike from Hon Fu's trusty nunchucks, but the force behind the attack wasn't softened that much.

Mary was on the defensive as Hon Fu prepared for another attack with his weapon, trying to keep her distance. Unfortunately, focusing on the nunchucks simply meant Blue Mary wasn't looking when Hon Fu unleashed a roundhouse to her side.

"You're… good…" Mary grunted as she stumbled away. Hon Fu simply bowed in appreciation.

"Thanks… I've been training for this."

"As have I," Mary answered as she charged again. Hon Fu predictably was using his nunchucks again, as Blue Mary had expected. With one graceful and surgically-precise kick, Mary's foot smashed through the weapon's chain before continuing on to slam into Hon Fu's upper arm. The Chinese man's surprised at the stunning feat, was then clutching his arm in pain and wondering how the detective had learned to kick like that. As he stumbled away. Lunging quickly at him again, Mary swung her right leg up in a roundhouse kick aimed towards his head. Hon Fu bent backwards, but Mary countered by swinging her leg back, catching his neck in the back of her knee as her other leg hooked his right leg.

"Rose… Spark Bridge!"

Mary tightened her grip as Hon Fu was bent nearly all the way over, with his legs and head touching the ground while he arched his body up, Mary keeping up the pressure and using her hands to keep her up. The hold certainly was doing it's job, Hon Fu struggling for a moment before tapping the ground.

He'd conceded. Good.

Mary let go, Hon Fu collapsing onto the ground and trying to catch his breath as she plopped onto the floor beside him.

"… You okay?"

Coughing a little bit, Hon Fu nodded. "…Yeah. Didn't really expect that… though…"

Blue Mary Ryan smiled. "Don't worry about it. I stole it from a Shonen manga… sorta."

* * *

Geese breathed a sigh of relief as he threw the blue-clothed brat off over to the side. With the threat of the Jin Twins nipped at the bud, he could worry about Terry now. Well, before that he had that Alfred kid to worry about… who was staring him down and ready for battle.

Geese still found reason to smirk coyly. "You know… you probably saved my best friend's life with that little bit of info about 'no touching.' I really appreciate that."

Alfred smiled honestly. "That man has taken so much from this world. I'll do whatever I can to deny him the right to even _laugh_. If your friend can beat him into the dirt, well, that saves me the time and the energy."

Geese's grin widened. "Quetz will break him in two."

The two men shared a hearty and good-natured laugh before stopping in mid-guffaw and lunging at each other.

* * *

"You better not make any remarks about being in your element," White sneered as he and Goenitz stood atop the hospital building. He pointed his replacement cane straight at Goenitz, planning on settling this quickly.

Goenitz shook his head. "Of course not. That being said though…"

"No… don't you dare say it!"

"… A fair wind is blowing."

White charged at Goenitz. "YOU JUST WENT TOO FAR!" The man's right hand clenched his weapon of choice, white knuckles contrasting with the black rod as his left hand shot forwards to grab hold of Goenitz. He was no fool, he knew Goenitz was going to simply gather up one of those tornadoes, and he was prepared.

Sure enough a burst of wind came into existence underneath him, White flipping backwards, grinning through the dusty twister to his opponent as he spun his cane around and slammed it into the ground. Chunks of gravel suddenly were knocked up into the cyclone before White thrust his weapon into it, striking the pieces of ceiling.

The impromptu projectiles rocketed into Goenitz, striking him in the gut and causing him to double over in pain as White charged again, smashing Leopold over the head with his cane and knocking him to the ground. Snarling, White grabbed towards Goenitz's head and desired to end this in one final, very bloody shower.

… Except a chance piece of clothing from Goenitz's robes glided up due to a faint breeze, miraculously wrapping around White's face. The momentary distraction was all the time Goenitz needed to summon up another tornado with White right in the center. The force sent White, helpless, into the air as Goenitz rose back up and sighed.

"You see? It truly _was_ a fortunate wind."

One forceful kick to White's face sent him flying away, slamming into the edge of the roof. Looking at the pathetic man before him try to get up, Goenitz looked up and recovered one of the pieces of his overly ornate outfit. He couldn't help but laugh… in the end, his own precautions paled in comparison to the power of sheer dumb luck.

Meanwhile, White could not believe it… two sequentially humiliating performances in battle, and he couldn't handle _any more_.

"You…" White could barely keep his composure as he rose up and pointed his cane at Goenitz.

"I'LL SEE YOU IN HELL, YOU GODDAMN BASTARD!"

He fired the bullet, preparing to end Goenitz's life. Terry wasn't around and nobody would stop him this time. _Nobody at all_. And certainly not Jivatama or their joint boss.

Goenitz, however, simply looked back down at White as a tornado intercepted the projectile, stopping it as Goenitz turned and began walking away.

"This fight…" Goenitz sighed as he raised up his hand. "Is over."

He snapped his fingers, a blast of wind shooting backwards and cutting across the ground before striking White painfully. First there was nothing more than a cry of pain, and then a scream of a different kind.

Goenitz turned around just in time to see White's bowler hat slowly drift out of sight. The former priest panicked, sprinting back and looking down.

"Checkmate."

There was White, blood running down the right side of his face from a nasty gash, tightly holding onto a windowsill as he held his cane straight up, less than a centimeter away from Goenitz's head. He thumbed the button, ready to deliver the second, fatal shot.

A moment passed, each man still caught up in the tension of the battle, before Goenitz unceremoniously removed a piece of cloth from his outfit and wrapped his hand around it before pounding it into White's face. The murderous psycho plummeted to the ground below, Goenitz turning and walking away. Shaking his head, Leopold began walking away.

Looking down at the Ouroboros symbol on his left hand, Goenitz was almost disturbed by the irony. White's gun must've misfired. It wasn't impossible, and a custom weapon like that probably ran the risk of jamming at least once in a while. And that meant that he, a Serpent God, had been saved by nothing more than the devil's luck twice in less than ten minutes.

"Well then Geese…" he sighed, "You better win your next match. I'll looking forward to our match."

* * *

Screaming out, Alfred struck ruthlessly at Geese again as the older man weaved around the attacks. Things so far were too terribly difficult as Howard simply let the boy wear himself out. Besides, Geese hadn't really got a feel for his fighting style yet, it made sense to figure it out before going on the offensive.

Growing frustrated, however, Airhawk suddenly rocketed forward as he slashed with both of his hands.

Almost casually, Geese threw up the Atami Nage.

"Predictab-"

Geese's infamous verbal barb, however, was cut short as blood came into sight. He had lost track of how many different techniques the stance had been able with withstand and counter… and for a moment he almost thought that karma was finally catching up to him.

A blunt technique, sure. The Atami Nage could handle that no problem.

But judging by the bloody look of his left arm, he guessed an attack that had cutting in mind was something very, _very_ different.

A/N: Whew. Sorry for not updating in a while, but, well… I had been getting _Maoh Soma_ ready… a side story for the Dichotomy trilogy. Anyways, seven fights remain in the King of Fighters Maximum Mayhem tournament, with plenty of twists and turns still abound. Geese's legendary counter-all has been broken at long last, which really makes me wonder why it stood up to the Psycho Crusher in '97.

Bison: Because Athena's is nothing but a pathetic copy! sobs pathetically

That works.

Anyways, next chapter's coming up, and we've probably got two or three more chapters in this, and then we finally get to the sweet, humorous, and light-hearted King of Fighters '98. … And then things will go to hell with the KoF '99. Joy. And figuring out the origin of the Rose Spark Bridge WAS based off of three techniques from Kinnikuman: the (Imperfect) Muscle Spark, Kajiba no Bridge, and the Tower Bridge. Why the hell should Clark get all the Kinnikuman moves?


	62. Quarterfinals, Fin

A/N: I don't have many good excuses for why I haven't updated in a while. I do have several crappy ones, ranging from college, my computer needing repairs, the awesomeness of GaoGaiGar and G Gundam, and working on _Maoh Soma_ on fictionpress. On with the show!

A moment passed between Geese and Alfred where neither man acted, instead both merely surprised that the Atami Nage had failed so spectacularly. It was Geese who broke the silence.

"… It's… quite a shock to the system…" Geese muttered as he cradled his bloody arm. He couldn't really put much stock in it for the rest of the fight, and he'd have to get medical attention as soon as possible. Otherwise, he'd lose the limb and that would _really_ suck. Taking his shirt off, he managed to wrap it around his forearm and made sure it was tight enough to stop the bleeding.

"That being said…" he continued, " The only way a fighter can improve is if the flaws in his pre-existing style. I'm lucky to have the weak point in the Atami Nage exposed during a normal, friendly battle, rather than a struggle between life and death." _Of course…_ he added internally, _This is going to make fighting Terry infinitely harder_.

Alfred's shock at what he did slowly subsided, before he finally let out a sigh of relief. "Great… glad we-"

"REPPUKEN!"

The blue ground wave slammed into the off-guard aviator, blasting into him and knocking him to the ground.

"Don't forget we're still fighting, _boy!_" Geese snarled. The ferocity of the line shocked Alfred, but he quickly got up again.

_Don't falter!_ Alfred screamed at himself. _If you get distracted whenever you get an advantage, you'll never defeat White!_ Pulling himself up, the pilot swept the dust off and charged straight at Geese again, repeating the same unusual slashing gestures with his hands.

Knowing that his infamous counter technique was now useless, Geese found himself trying desperately to play keep-away while thinking up a strategy. He found himself cursing his reliance on that technique shown to him during the final hours of the King of Fighters '92; just because a technique was good didn't mean it was perfect… and that was a lesson he had just learned.

Amidst dodging another of Alfred's strikes, Geese took a kick to the side of the neck and the force sent him to the ground. Spitting out a bit of blood he felt his neck with his good arm… _Damn_, Howard thought, _I'm having more trouble with some brat than I've had with adult _men, _for God's sake!_

In spite of that realization and the frustration the blonde was feeling, Geese still smiled as he got up again. After all, once this fight was over, he would have defeated the only man capable of breaking the Atami Nage.

"I can't believe how close I am to victory…" Alfred said incredulously as he slashed into the air, sending a razor-sharp wave straight at Geese. "I'm going to be the man to defeat you in battle!"

"Don't count your eggs before they hatch, Alfred!" Geese snapped back as he fired a Ressatsu bolt straight at the wave. The energy blast cut through Alfred's move, pushing the air out of the way of Alfred's attack's path. With no air, the "ripple" fizzled out, and right before Geese's attack hit its mark.

Alfred winced as the attack struck his shoulder, causing him to double-over slightly and clutch it. "… Okay, I admit that I haven't won _just_ yet… but-" The second half of Alfred's response was cut short when he looked up, seeing Geese face away from him.

"But what?"

"Well, why the hell are you facing away from me?!" Alfred shouted.

Geese just shrugged. "This technique is an experiment, an attempt to improve on the Atami Nage."

"You're crazy, Howard!" Alfred responded. "You wouldn't even be able to see my attacks coming?"

"I'll just have to settle on instinct then, no?" Geese chuckled. "Besides, I usually only have a fraction of a second for the technique anyways. How does this change things at all?"

Clenching his fists, Alfred decided to prove Geese wrong the easy way: attack him, and make the move decisive. He came at Geese like an airplane ready to rip apart a bird that strayed too close to its jet turbines, to finish this in one final stroke, his hands ready to cut into Geese's exposed back.

He was promptly humiliated.

At the last possible second, Geese rolled forward partially, bringing his legs up and slamming his feet _painfully_ into the sides of Alfred's arms before Geese continued the roll, flinging Alfred around and slamming him into the ground. Geese promptly finished the sequence with a Raging Storm, blasting Alfred two dozen yards away where he landed in a crumpled heap.

"And that…" Geese remarked as he walked away, "Is game." Next stop: the hospital.

* * *

It'd been nearing the end of the day when the phone cal came to the Howard household. Billy was off, training up for the next King of Fighters. He would've entered the Maximum Mayhem tournament, but Geese had been adamant about tackling this himself. And so really it was just Marie, reading a short book mainly with pictures to her six-year-old son.

And then the phone rang, which she answered. And then almost immediately, she told Rock to go up to his room and stay there no matter what he would hear from downstairs until she went up and got him.

One look into his mother's pleading red eyes was enough to make him comply without the slightest doubt.

Marie waited long after Rock left her sight and counted to ten.

Immediately afterwards, she picked up the phone, threw it into the wall, and sank to her knees before weeping pathetically.

"Dammit Geese… why now? Why for _God's_ sake… n-"

Her furious declaration was cut short as her eyes opened wide and pain ripped through her body. _B-but…_ Marie Howard thought before she fall forward onto the ground, _This… this shouldn't be happening yet!_

She still had time left. She was _supposed_ to have time left. There were supposed to be weeks left, precious few weeks left before it happened. Why was it happening now?

"Geese... I'm sorry..."

* * *

"We meet again, Shiranui."

"And the same to you, Ryan."

In the middle of a deserted street -it was late at night- two women who had not faced each other in battle in so long found themselves again paired up together. As before, Terry Bogard was the ultimate mastermind behind the tournament.

"… How's Mr. Howard doing?" Mai asked, with almost a slightly condescending tone to her voice. Mary could only leer at the ninja for the response.

"He's… fine…" Mary responded. "His arm's damaged, he'll need some surgery… but it's nothing to write home about."

Mai smiled. "Good. Hate to think he couldn't duke out against his best friend, after all."

Mary waited until the ninja began to wax poetic about the nature of friends battling against each other, and then charged, delivering fierce punch to the forehead and knocking Mai to the ground before springing away. The red-clad ninja was knocked flat on her back, wincing in pain before realizing that her nose had been broken.

_Wha-what?_ Pushing herself up, she was surprised Mary had managed to put so much for ince the attack. Wiping the blood off her face, she crouched down slightly and then sprang into the air before throwing dozens of fan at Mary. The attacks did very little; the distance between the two giving Mary plenty of time to jump away and guard against whatever was coming too fast to evade. Mai did, however, manage to get into position for her real goal: reach a flagpole sticking out of the nearest skyscraper and then use it to let her shoot back down at a tremendous velocity.

Mary could only look in shock as Mai burst into flames before hitting the ground, sending up such a blazing explosion that she likely would have been disqualified from the tournament for sake of safety if there had been civilians watching. Mary screamed out as she was sent flying backwards, Shiranui breathing a sigh of relief amidst her fire. Compared to her previous battle with Mary, that hadn't been really that bad at-

"SHIRANUI!"

Mary's furious scream knocked Mai out of her private reflection as the detective burst out of the inferno with a flying kick, slamming her foot straight into the red-clad ninja's face. Stunning Mai, Blue Mary once again moved forward, swinging one leg up and hooking it around her opponent's throat while the other entwined her left leg.

"Rose Spark Bridge!" Mary announced, planning on doing to Mai what she had done to Hon Fu in order to win the match. There was only one problem though: the flexibility of the Shiranui ninja.

The long-haired woman bent back with the attack, managing to tilt her head enough to escape the hold while Mai's hands caught her fall. With a roar, Mai then brought her elbow up and let it smash into Mary's chest, knocking the woman onto the road painfully.

"Damn…" Mary grunted as she tried to push Mai's arm off of her. "You're… pretty driven this time around…"

"Thanks," Mai answered before suddenly gasping in shock as Mary managed to land a solid punch to her stomach and knock her away. "Gotta say the same for you too. Unfortunately, this is going to end her-" her taunt was cut short as a sharp pain rose up in her gut. These exchanges were certainly taking a lot out of her.

The same went for Mary, noting that the woman she was fighting seemed a far cry from the one years ago.

Nevertheless, both women knew the fight had to end, and the dying flames on the street made for great symbolism. The two women charged at each other before changing their stances to perform flying kicks.

Impact, and then departure. Shiranui and Ryan touched down ten feet away from each other, wondering for a moment about which attack connected first, and which attack hit harder.

After a few seconds, the answer seemed obvious.

Mai gasped, clutching her chest as she fell on her knees. She could hear Mary offer a bit of at least begrudging respect in her declaration of victory and tried her best to offer a suitable response.

"Don't… think this fight…" Mai slowly said, "Don't think it's over!"

Mary was about to verbally question Mai's grasp on reality, but then… _it_ struck. The force of Mai's attack from before… it was like it had finally caught up with her, blasting Mary backwards.

_Up…_ Mai thought desperately, _I've… I've got to get back up!_

Mary was nearing her, and Mai _had_ to win. She was going to bury the hatchet with Terry and finally get her priorities straight. She was going to deal with White once and for all and end that horrible man's existence, and then she and Andy… they could live their lives by their own terms.

It felt like her entire body was in agony. Then again, Mai guessed Mary was probably feeling the same torture as she spun backwards and bringing her right leg up. The attack connected, straight to the side of Mary's neck and launching her off through a glass window. Seconds passed as Mai stood weakly, feeling her strength abandon her as Mary stumbled out of the wreckage. The two women, each run ragged from the battle of attrition, looked at each other for a long while, and then Blue Mary Ryan smirked.

"Well… _shit…_"

She promptly collapsed. Mai fell to her knees again and let out a joyful, yet dead serious laugh. She'd done it.

* * *

The door was unlocked, as Kain R. Heinlein had suspected. He felt a little bad about breaking and entering, but then again, this was an issue dealing with _family_. He couldn't turn his back, no?

He remembered bringing this issue with Marie only hours after the birth of Kain's nephew, and it was time for her to pay the piper. Walking through the lower floor of the Howard estate, he finally discovered her… his sister just lying there on the ground. Her dull, glazed-over eyes were a sign of what was coming about, but had not fully taken hold yet.

Kneeling down, he smirked.

"Thought you still had time, no?" he asked. If it had been _anyone_ else in this situation, Kain would have not hesitated to kick the victim in the face. But this was his sister, after all… and he was also her guest.

Marie Howard's skin was ghostly pale as she stayed as still as possible, but Kain _knew_ she was still in there. She wasn't gone just yet.

Laughing quietly, Kain looked around for a moment. "Where's my nephew Rock? Certainly he isn't off somewhere I can't find him, I hope." Walking away from Marie, Kain let his powers manifest slightly, light blue energy emanating from his hands.

"Maybe this is karma," Kain continued. "Maybe your early… decay… is punishment for caring for a man such as Geese Howard. Maybe it isn't, for all I know. That being said… I feel no shame in knowing what's going to happen." Pulling out his cell phone, he quickly dialed 911.

To return, victorious from the Maximum Mayhem tournament, only to discover his wife was dead would no doubt be a shock to Geese's system.

To be able to watch her _die_, with even the best of medical care unable to save her… that would make Geese go through the same torture that he'd inflicted on Kain by stripping Marie away from him. It didn't get any better than that.

* * *

"How's your arm?" Goenitz asked as he and Geese sat opposite of each other in the hospital, Howard's left forearm bandaged. The blonde shrugged.

"Less than perfect," Geese reluctantly admitted. "That boy certainly knew how to fight, I give him that. But I'm bitter about this, no matter how nice it was to have to push myself."

"Are you still going to be in the tournament?"

Geese laughed before pointing at Goenitz with his good hand. "Don't talk like that, Quetz! Don't forget I beat you last time."

"That was more you just trying to survive long enough for me to get brought back to my senses," Goenitz countered.

"And you were also stronger back then because you had yet to reject the Momentum of Wills," Geese taunted.

"And you also had two good arms to work with!"

The two men were almost nose to nose, the desire for another battle in their rivalry growing and growing inside of them. Finally, their right hands swung up, both men taking a painful blow to their face as everyone else in the hospital lobby could only look in dread.

Falling back a few steps, Geese glanced at the various spectators. "You know… Quetz… I think we should take this outside."

"That's no problem on my end," the former priest said. "And you should know something too."

"What?"

Goenitz smirked as he reached behind his seat and pulled out a briefcase before sliding it over to Geese. "I'd been expecting us to get a fight, so I thought it'd be nice to give this to you. The fact that Alfred shredded up your old hakama and shirt, well, it's more justification, no?"

Grinning with anticipation, Geese squatted down and opened it up, discovering inside the case an orange hakama. Moving it aside, he found a white kimono shirt underneath it, and by the looks of it, an embroidery was on the back too. Turning it around, Geese found the image of a hawk had been sewn into it.

"They say a bird is supposed to be the rival to a snake, no? Just as I'm a Serpent God, Geese, you're… well, you're _Geese_."

Looking up at his best friend, Geese nodded his head in appreciation for the gesture and its symbolism. "Thanks. It really means a lot."

"I'll meet you outside. We can settle our battle there." Goenitz waved to Geese before walking away, Howard just standing there in utter respect.

Finally, Geese grabbed the briefcase. "I won't keep you waiting long. Our fight… will be one for the ages."

A/N: Whew! I really hadn't expected the Mai vs. Mary rematch to be so intense, but it just ended up that way. Part of this arc's meant to let Mai actually fight reasonably well, instead of losing just for the sake of plot advancement, and I feel she's done a good job at that. Anyways, there's only three more rounds in the King of Fighters Maximum Mayhem, an arc you've all been waiting to be finished for over a year, which translates to about three more chapters. Stay tuned, because chapter 63's coming out within two weeks!


End file.
